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RANDOM  REMINISCENCES   OF  MEN 
AND  EVENTS 


MR.   JOHN    D.   ROCKEFELLER  AT  THE   AGE  OF  EIGHTEEN 


Random  Reminiscences 

of  Men  and  Events 

BY 

JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER 


New  York 
Doubleday,  Page  &  Company 
1909 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED,  INCLUDING  THAT  OF  TRANSLATION 
INTO  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES,  INCLUDING  THE  SCANDINAVIAN 

COPYRIGHT,  I908,  1909,  BY  DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 


PREFACE 


Probably  in  the  life  of  every  one  there  comes 
a  time  when  he  is  inclined  to  go  over  again 
the  events,  great  and  small,  which  have  made  up 
the  incidents  of  his  work  and  pleasure,  and  I 
am  tempted  to  become  a  garrulous  old  man,  and 
tell  some  stories  of  men  and  things  which  have 
happened  in  an  active  life. 

In  some  measure  I  have  been  associated  with 
the  most  interesting  people  our  country  has 
produced,  especially  in  business  —  men  who  have 
helped  largely  to  build  up  the  commerce  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  have  made  known  its 
products  all  over  the  world.  These  incidents 
which  come  to  my  mind  to  speak  of  seemed 
vitally  important  to  me  when  they  happened, 
and  they  still  stand  out  distinctly  in  my  memory. 

Just  how  far  any  one  is  justified  in  keeping 
what  he  regards  as  his  own  private  affairs  from 
the  public,  or  in  defending  himself  from  attacks, 
is  a  mooted  point.  If  one  talks  about  one's 
experiences,  there  is  a  natural  temptation  to 
charge  one  with  traveling  the  easy  road  to 
egotism;  if  one  keeps  silence,  the  inference  of 

v 


RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


wrong-doing  is  sometimes  even  more  difficult 
to  meet,  as  it  would  then  be  said  that  there  is 
no  valid  defence  to  be  offered. 

It  has  not  been  my  custom  to  press  my  affairs 
forward  into  public  gaze;  but  I  have  come  to 
see  that  if  my  family  and  friends  want  some 
record  of  things  which  might  shed  light  on 
matters  that  have  been  somewhat  discussed, 
it  is  right  that  I  should  yield  to  their  advice,  and 
in  this  informal  way  go  over  again  some  of  the 
events  which  have  made  life  interesting  to  me. 

There  is  still  another  reason  for  speaking  now: 
If  a  tenth  of  the  things  that  have  been  said  are 
true,  then  these  dozens  of  able  and  faithful  men 
who  have  been  associated  with  me,  many  of 
whom  have  passed  away,  must  have  been  guilty 
of  grave  faults.  For  myself,  I  had  decided  to 
say  nothing,  hoping  that  after  my  death  the 
truth  would  gradually  come  to  the  surface  and 
posterity  would  do  strict  justice;  but  while  I 
live  and  can  testify  to  certain  things,  it  seems  fair 
that  I  should  refer  to  some  points  which  I  hope 
will  help  to  set  forth  several  much-discussed 
happenings  in  a  new  light.  I  am  convinced  that 
they  have  not  been  fully  understood. 

All  these  things  affect  the  memories  of  men 
who  are  dead  and  the  lives  of  men  who  are  living, 
and  it  is  only  reasonable  that  the  public  should 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS 


have  some  first-hand  facts  to  draw  from  in  mak- 
ing up  its  final  estimate. 

When  these  Reminiscences  were  begun,  there 
was  of  course  no  thought  that  they  should  ever 
go  so  far  as  to  appear  between  the  covers  of  a 
book.  They  were  not  prepared  with  the  idea 
of  even  an  informal  autobiography,  there  was 
little  idea  of  order  or  sequence,  and  no  thought 
whatever  of  completeness. 

It  would  have  been  a  pleasure  as  well  as  a 
satisfaction  to  dwell  with  some  fulness  upon  the 
stories  of  daily  and  intimate  companionship 
which  existed  for  so  many  years  with  my  close 
partners  and  associates,  but  I  realize  that  while 
these  experiences  have  always  been  to  me  among 
the  great  pleasures  of  my  life,  a  long  account  of 
them  would  not  interest  the  reader,  and  thus  it 
happens  that  I  have  but  mentioned  the  names 
of  only  a  few  of  the  scores  of  partners  who  have 
been  so  active  in  building  up  the  business 
interests  with  which  I  have  been  associated. 

J.  D.  R. 

March,  1909. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    Some  Old  Friends        ...  1 

II.    The  Difficult  Art  of  Getting  .       .  31 

III.  The  Standard  Oil  Company  .       .  53 

IV.  Some  Experiences  in  the  Oil  Busi- 

ness ......  77 

V.    Other  Business  Experiences  and 

Business  Principles   .       .  .113 

VI.    The  Difficult  Art  of  Giving       .  137 

VII.    The  Benevolent  Trust— The  Value 
of  the  Cooperative  Principle  in 

Giving   163 


ix 


SOME  OLD  FRIENDS 


CHAPTER  I 


Some  Old  Friends 

SINCE  these  Reminiscences  are  really 
what  they  profess  to  be,  random  and 
informal,  I  hope  I  may  be  pardoned  for  setting 
down  so  many  small  things. 

In  looking  back  over  my  life,  the  impressions 
which  come  most  vividly  to  my  mind  are  mental 
pictures  of  my  old  associates.  In  speaking 
of  these  friends  in  this  chapter,  I  would  not 
have  it  thought  that  many  others,  of  whom  I 
have  not  spoken,  were  less  important  to  me, 
and  I  shall  hope  to  refer  to  this  subject  of  my 
early  friends  again  in  a  later  chapter. 

It  is  not  always  possible  to  remember  just 
how  one  first  met  an  old  friend  or  what  one's 
impressions  were,  but  I  shall  never  forget  my 
first  meeting  with  Mr.  John  D.  Archbold,  who 
is  now  a  vice-president  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Company. 

At  that  time,  say  thirty-five  or  forty  years 
ago,  I  was  travelling  about  the  country  visiting 
the  point   where  something   was  happening, 

3 


4        RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


talking  with  the  producers,  the  refiners,  the 
agents,  and  actually  getting  acquainted. 

One  day  there  was  a  gathering  of  the  men 
somewhere  near  the  oil  regions,  and  when  I 
came  to  the  hotel,  which  was  full  of  oil  men, 
I  saw  this  name  writ  large  on  the  register: 

John  D.  Archbold,  $4.00  a  bbl 

He  was  a  young  and  enthusiastic  fellow,  so 
full  of  his  subject  that  he  added  his  slogan, 
"$4.00  a  bbl.,"  after  his  signature  on  the 
register,  that  no  one  might  misunderstand  his 
convictions.  The  battle  cry  of  $4.00  a  barrel 
was  all  the  more  striking  because  crude  oil 
was  selling  then  for  much  less,  and  this  cam- 
paign for  a  higher  price  certainly  did  attract 
attention  —  it  was  much  too  good  to  be  true. 
But  if  Mr.  Archbold  had  to  admit  in  the  end 
that  crude  oil  is  not  worth  "$4.00  a  bbl.,"  his 
enthusiasm,  his  energy,  and  his  splendid  power 
over  men  have  lasted. 

He  has  always  had  a  well-developed  sense  of 
humour,  and  on  one  serious  occasion,  when  he 
was  on  the  witness  stand,  he  was  asked  by  the 
opposing  lawyer: 

"Mr.  Archbold,  are  you  a  director  of  this 
company  ?" 

"I  am." 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  5 


"What  is  your  occupation  in  this  company  ?" 

He  promptly  answered,  "To  clamour  for 
dividends/'  which  led  the  learned  counsel  to 
start  afresh  on  another  line. 

I  can  never  cease  to  wonder  at  his  capacity 
for  hard  work.  I  do  not  often  see  him  now, 
for  he  has  great  affairs  on  his  hands,  while  I 
live  like  a  farmer  away  from  active  happenings 
in  business,  playing  golf,  planting  trees;  and 
yet  I  am  so  busy  that  no  day  is  long  enough. 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Archbold  leads  me  to  say 
again  that  I  have  received  much  more  credit 
than  I  deserve  in  connection  with  the  Stan- 
dard Oil  Company.  It  was  my  good  fortune 
to  help  to  bring  together  the  efficient  men 
who  are  the  controlling  forces  of  the  organiza- 
tion and  to  work  hand  in  hand  with  them  for 
many  years,  but  it  is  they  who  have  done  the 
hard  tasks. 

The  great  majority  of  my  associations  were 
made  so  many  years  ago,  that  I  have  reached 
the  age  when  hardly  a  month  goes  by  (some- 
times I  think  hardly  a  week)  that  I  am  not 
called  upon  to  send  some  message  of  consola- 
tion to  a  family  with  whom  we  have  been  con- 
nected, and  who  have  met  with  some  fresh 
bereavement.  Only  recently  I  counted  up  the 
names  of  the  early  associates  who  have  passed 


6        RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


away.  Before  I  had  finished,  I  found  the 
list  numbered  some  sixty  or  more.  They  were 
faithful  and  earnest  friends;  we  had  worked 
together  through  many  difficulties,  and  had 
gone  through  many  severe  trials  together. 
We  had  discussed  and  argued  and  hammered 
away  at  questions  until  we  came  to  agree,  and 
it  has  always  been  a  happiness  to  me  to  feel 
that  we  had  been  frank  and  aboveboard  with 
each  other.  Without  this,  business  associates 
cannot  get  the  best  out  of  their  work. 

It  is  not  always  the  easiest  of  tasks  to  induce 
strong,  forceful  men  to  agree.  It  has  always 
been  our  policy  to  hear  patiently  and  discuss 
frankly  until  the  last  shred  of  evidence  is 
on  the  table,  before  trying  to  reach  a  conclusion 
and  to  decide  finally  upon  a  course  of  action. 
In  working  with  so  many  partners,  the  conser- 
vative ones  are  apt  to  be  in  the  majority,  and 
this  is  no  doubt  a  desirable  thing  when  the  mere 
momentum  of  a  large  concern  is  certain  to 
carry  it  forward.  The  men  who  have  been 
very  successful  are  correspondingly  conserva- 
tive, since  they  have  much  to  lose  in  case  of 
disaster.  But  fortunately  there  are  also  the 
aggressive  and  more  daring  ones,  and  they  are 
usually  the  youngest  in  the  company,  perhaps 
few  in  number,  but  impetuous  and  convincing. 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS 


7 


They  want  to  accomplish  things  and  to  move 
quickly,  and  they  don't  mind  any  amount  of 
work  or  responsibility.  I  remember  in  particu- 
lar an  experience  when  the  conservative  in- 
fluence met  the  progressive  —  shall  I  say  ?  —  or 
the  daring  side.  At  all  events,  this  was  the  side 
I  represented  in  this  case. 

ARGUMENTS  VERSUS  CAPITAL 

One  of  my  partners,  who  had  successfully 
built  up  a  large  and  prosperous  business,  was 
resisting  with  all  his  force  a  plan  that  some  of  us 
favoured,  to  make  some  large  improvements. 
The  cost  of  extending  the  operations  of  this 
enterprise  was  estimated  at  quite  a  sum  — 
three  million  dollars,  I  think  it  was  We  had 
talked  it  over  and  over  again,  and  with  several 
other  associates  discussed  all  the  pros  and  cons; 
and  we  had  used  every  argument  we  could 
command  to  show  why  the  plan  would  not 
only  be  profitable,  but  was  indeed  neces- 
sary to  maintain  the  lead  we  had.  Our  old 
partner  was  obdurate,  he  had  made  up  his 
mind  not  to  yield,  and  I  can  see  him  standing 
up  in  his  vigorous  protest,  with  his  hands  in  his 
pockets,  his  head  thrown  back,  as  he  shouted 
"No." 

It 's  a  pity  to  get  a  man  into  a  place  in  an 


8        RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


argument  where  he  is  defending  a  position 
instead  of  considering  the  evidence.  His  calm 
judgment  is  apt  to  leave  him,  and  his  mind 
is  for  the  time  being  closed,  and  only  obstinacy 
remains.  Now  these  improvements  had  to  be 
made  —  as  I  said  before,  it  was  essential.  Yet 
we  could  not  quarrel  with  our  old  partner,  but 
a  minority  of  us  had  made  up  our  minds  that 
we  must  try  to  get  him  to  yield,  and  we  resolved 
to  try  another  line  of  argument,  and  said  to  him : 
"You  say  that  we  do  not  need  to  spend  this 
money  ?" 

"No,"  he  replied,  "it  will  probably  prove  to 
be  many  years  before  such  a  sum  must  be  spent. 
There  is  no  present  need  for  these  facilities  you 
want  to  create,  and  the  works  are  doing  well  as 
they  are  —  let 's  let  well  enough  alone." 

Now  our  partner  was  a  very  wise  and  experi- 
enced man,  older  and  more  familiar  with 
the  subject  than  some  of  us,  and  all  this  we 
admitted  to  him;  but  we  had  made  up  our 
minds,  as  I  have  said,  to  carry  out  this  idea  if 
we  could  possibly  get  his  approval,  and  we 
were  willing  to  wait  until  then.  As  soon  as  the 
argument  had  calmed  down,  and  when  the  heat 
of  our  discussion  had  passed,  the  subject  was 
brought  up  again.  I  had  thought  of  a  new  way 
to  approach  it.    I  said : 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  9 


"I  '11  take  it,  and  supply  this  capital  myself. 
If  the  expenditure  turns  out  to  be  profitable 
the  company  can  repay  me;  and,  if  it  goes 
wrong,  I  '11  stand  the  loss." 

That  was  the  argument  that  touched  him. 
All  his  reserve  disappeared  and  the  matter  was 
settled  when  he  said: 

"If  that's  the  way  you  feel  about  it,  we'll 
go  it  together.  I  guess  I  can  take  the  risk  if  you 
can." 

It  is  always,  I  presume,  a  question  in  every 
business  just  how  fast  it  is  wise  to  go,  and  we 
went  pretty  rapidly  in  those  days,  building  and 
expanding  in  all  directions.  We  were  being 
confronted  with  fresh  emergencies  constantly. 
A  new  oil  field  would  be  discovered,  tanks  for 
storage  had  to  be  built  almost  over  night,  and 
this  was  going  on  when  old  fields  were  being 
exhausted,  so  we  were  therefore  often  under  the 
double  strain  of  losing  the  facilities  in  one  place 
where  we  were  fully  equipped,  and  having  to 
build  up  a  plant  for  storing  and  transporting  in 
a  new  field  where  we  were  totally  unprepared. 
These  are  some  of  the  things  which  make  the 
whole  oil  trade  a  perilous  one,  but  we  had 
with  us  a  group  of  courageous  men  who  recog- 
nized the  great  principle  that  a  business  cannot 
be  a  great  success  that  does  not  fully  and 


10       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


efficiently  accept  and  take  advantage  of  its 
opportunities. 

How  often  we  discussed  those  trying  ques- 
tions! Some  of  us  wanted  to  jump  at  once  into 
big  expenditures,  and  others  to  keep  to  more 
moderate  ones.  It  was  usually  a  compromise, 
but  one  at  a  time  we  took  these  matters  up  and 
settled  them,  never  going  as  fast  as  the  most 
progressive  ones  wished,  nor  quite  so  carefully 
as  the  conservatives  desired,  but  always  made 
the  vote  unanimous  in  the  end. 

THE  JOY  OF  ACHIEVEMENT 

The  part  played  by  one  of  my  earliest  part- 
ners, Mr.  H.  M.  Flagler,  was  always  an  inspira- 
tion to  me.  He  invariably  wanted  to  go  ahead 
and  accomplish  great  projects  of  all  kinds,  he 
was  always  on  the  active  side  of  every  question, 
and  to  his  wonderful  energy  is  due  much  of  the 
rapid  progress  of  the  company  in  the  early  days. 

It  was  to  be  expected  of  such  a  man  that  he 
should  fulfil  his  destiny  by  working  out  some 
great  problems  at  a  time  when  most  men  want 
to  retire  to  a  comfortable  life  of  ease.  This 
would  not  appeal  to  my  old  friend.  He  under- 
took, single  handed,  the  task  of  building  up  the 
East  Coast  of  Florida.  He  was  not  satisfied 
to  plan  a  railroad  from  St.  Augustine  to  Key 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  11 


West  —  a  distance  of  more  than  six  hundred 
miles,  which  would  have  been  regarded  as  an 
undertaking  large  enough  for  almost  any  one 
man  —  but  in  addition  he  has  built  a  chain  of 
superb  hotels  to  induce  tourists  to  go  to  this 
newly  developed  country.  Further  than  this, 
he  has  had  them  conducted  with  great  skill  and 
success. 

This  one  man,  by  his  own  energy  and  capital, 
has  opened  up  a  vast  stretch  of  country,  so  that 
the  old  inhabitants  and  the  new  settlers  may 
have  a  market  for  their  products.  He  has 
given  work  to  thousands  of  these  people;  and, 
to  crown  all,  he  has  undertaken  and  nearly 
completed  a  remarkable  engineering  feat  in 
carrying  his  road  on  the  Florida  Keys  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  to  Key  West,  the  point  set  out 
for  years  ago. 

Practically  all  this  has  been  done  after  what 
most  men  would  have  considered  a  full  business 
life,  and  a  man  of  any  other  nationality  situated 
as  he  was  would  have  retired  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  his  labour. 

I  first  knew  Mr.  Flagler  as  a  young  man 
who  consigned  produce  to  Clark  &  Rockefeller. 
He  was  a  bright  and  active  young  fellow  full 
of  vim  and  push.  About  the  time  we  went  into 
the  oil  business  Mr.  Flagler  established  himself 


12       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


as  a  commission  merchant  in  the  same  building 
with  Mr.  Clark,  who  took  over  and  succeeded 
the  firm  of  Clark  &  Rockefeller.  A  little  later 
he  bought  out  Mr.  Clark  and  combined  his 
trade  with  his  own. 

Naturally,  I  came  to  see  more  of  him.  The 
business  relations  which  began  with  the  hand- 
ling of  produce  he  consigned  to  our  old  firm 
grew  into  a  business  friendship,  because  people 
who  lived  in  a  comparatively  small  place,  as 
Cleveland  was  then,  were  thrown  together 
much  more  often  than  in  such  a  place  as  New 
York.  When  the  oil  business  was  developing 
and  we  needed  more  help,  I  at  once  thought 
of  Mr.  Flagler  as  a  possible  partner,  and 
made  him  an  offer  to  come  with  us  and  give 
up  his  commission  business.  This  offer  he 
accepted,  and  so  began  that  life-long  friend- 
ship which  has  never  had  a  moment's  inter- 
ruption. It  was  a  friendship  founded  on 
business,  which  Mr.  Flagler  used  to  say  was  a 
good  deal  better  than  a  business  founded  on 
friendship,  and  my  experience  leads  me  to  agree 
with  him. 

For  years  and  years  this  early  partner  and  I 
worked  shoulder  to  shoulder;  our  desks  were  in 
the  same  room.  We  both  lived  on  Euclid 
Avenue,  a  few  rods  apart.    We  met  and  walked 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  13 


to  the  office  together,  walked  home  to  luncheon, 
back  again  after  luncheon,  and  home  again  at 
night.  On  these  walks,  when  we  were  away 
from  the  office  interruptions,  we  did  our  think- 
ing, talking,  and  planning  together.  Mr. 
Flagler  drew  practically  all  our  contracts.  He 
has  always  had  the  faculty  of  being  able  to 
clearly  express  the  intent  and  purpose  of  a 
contract  so  well  and  accurately  that  there 
could  be  no  misunderstanding,  and  his  con- 
tracts were  fair  to  both  sides.  I  can  remem- 
ber his  saying  often  that  when  you  go  into  an 
arrangement  you  must  measure  up  the  rights 
and  proprieties  of  both  sides  with  the  same 
yardstick,  and  this  was  the  way  Henry  M. 
Flagler  did. 

One  contract  Mr.  Flagler  was  called  upon  to 
accept  which  to  my  surprise  he  at  once  passed 
with  his  O.  K.  and  without  a  question.  We 
had  concluded  to  purchase  the  land  on  which 
one  of  our  refineries  was  built  and  which  was 
held  on  a  lease  from  John  Irwin,  whom  we  both 
knew  well.  Mr.  Irwin  drew  the  contract  for 
the  purchase  of  this  land  on  the  back  of  a  large 
manila  envelope  that  he  picked  up  in  the  office. 
The  description  of  the  property  ran  as  such 
contracts  usually  do  until  it  came  to  the  phrase 
"the  line  runs  south  to  a  mullen  stalk/'  etc. 


14       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


This  seemed  to  me  a  trifle  indefinite,  but  Mr. 
Flagler  said: 

"It's  all  right,  John.  I'll  accept  that  con- 
tract, and  when  the  deed  comes  in,  you  will  see 
that  the  mullen  stalk  will  be  replaced  by  a 
proper  stake  and  the  whole  document  will  be 
accurate  and  shipshape."  Of  course  it  turned 
out  exactly  as  he  said  it  would.  I  am  almost 
tempted  to  say  that  some  lawyers  might  sit  at 
his  feet  and  learn  things  about  drawing  con- 
tracts good  for  them  to  know,  but  perhaps 
our  legal  friends  might  think  I  was  partial,  so  I 
won't  press  the  point. 

Another  thing  about  Mr.  Flagler  for  which  I 
think  he  deserves  great  credit  was  that  in 
the  early  days  he  insisted  that,  when  a  refin- 
ery was  to  be  put  up,  it  should  be  different 
from  the  flimsy  shacks  which  it  was  then  the 
custom  to  build.  Every  one  was  so  afraid  that 
the  oil  would  disappear  and  that  the  money 
expended  in  buildings  would  be  a  loss  that  the 
meanest  and  cheapest  buildings  were  erected  for 
use  as  refineries.  This  was  the  sort  of  thing 
Mr.  Flagler  objected  to.  While  he  had  to  admit 
that  it  was  possible  the  oil  supply  might  fail  and 
that  the  risks  of  the  trade  were  great,  he  always 
believed  that  if  we  went  into  the  oil  business  at 
all,  we  should  do  the  work  as  well  as  we  knew 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  15 


how;  that  we  should  have  the  very  best  facilities; 
that  everything  should  be  solid  and  substantial; 
and  that  nothing  should  be  left  undone  to  pro- 
duce the  finest  results.  And  he  followed  his 
convictions  of  building  as  though  the  trade  was 
going  to  last,  and  his  courage  in  acting  up  to 
his  beliefs  laid  strong  foundations  for  later 
years. 

There  are  a  number  of  people  still  alive  who 
will  recall  the  bright,  straightforward  young 
Flagler  of  those  days  with  satisfaction.  At 
the  time  when  we  bought  certain  refineries  at 
Cleveland  he  was  very  active.  One  day  he 
met  an  old  friend  on  the  street,  a  German 
baker,  to  whom  he  had  sold  flour  in  years  gone 
by.  His  friend  told  him  that  he  had  gone  out 
of  the  bakery  business  and  had  built  a  little 
refinery.  This  surprised  Mr.  Flagler,  and  he 
did  n't  like  the  idea  of  his  friend  investing  his 
little  fortune  in  a  small  plant  which  he  felt  sure 
would  not  succeed.  But  at  first  there  seemed 
nothing  to  do  about  it.  He  had  it  on  his  mind 
for  some  days.  It  evidently  troubled  him. 
Finally  he  came  to  me  and  said: 

"That  little  baker  man  knows  more  about 
baking  than  oil  refining,  but  I 'd  feel  better  if 
we  invited  him  to  join  us  —  I 've  got  him  on 
my  conscience." 


16       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


I  of  course  agreed.  He  talked  to  his  friend, 
who  said  he  would  gladly  sell  if  we  would  send 
an  appraiser  to  value  his  plant,  which  we  did, 
and  then  there  arose  an  unexpected  difficulty. 
The  price  at  which  the  plant  was  to  be  pur- 
chased was  satisfactory,  but  the  ex-baker 
insisted  that  Mr.  Flagler  should  advise  him 
whether  he  should  take  his  pay  in  cash  or 
Standard  Oil  certificates  at  par.  He  told  Mr. 
Flagler  that  if  he  took  it  in  cash  it  would  pay 
all  his  debts,  and  he  would  be  glad  to  have  his 
mind  free  of  many  anxieties;  but  if  Mr.  Flagler 
said  the  certificates  were  going  to  pay  good 
dividends,  he  wanted  to  get  into  and  keep  up 
with  a  good  thing.  It  was  rather  a  hard  prop- 
osition to  put  up  to  Mr.  Flagler,  and  at  first 
he  declined  to  advise  or  express  any  opinion, 
but  the  German  stuck  to  him  and  would  n't 
let  him  shirk  a  responsibility  which  in  no  way 
belonged  to  him.  Finally  Mr.  Flagler  sug- 
gested that  he  take  half  the  amount  in  cash 
and  pay  50  per  cent,  on  account  of  his  debts, 
and  put  the  other  half  in  certificates,  and  see 
what  happened.  This  he  did,  and  as  time  went 
on  he  bought  more  certificates,  and  Mr.  Flagler 
never  had  to  apologize  for  the  advice  he  gave 
him.  I  am  confident  that  my  old  partner  gave 
this  affair  as  much  time  and  thought  as  he  did 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  17 


to  any  of  his  own  large  problems,  and  the 
incident  may  be  taken  as  a  measure  of  the  man. 

THE  VALUE  OF  FRIENDSHIPS 

But  these  old  men's  tales  can  hardly  be 
interesting  to  the  present  generation,  though 
perhaps  they  will  not  be  useless  if  even  tire- 
some stories  make  young  people  realize  how, 
above  all  other  possessions,  is  the  value  of  a 
friend  in  every  department  of  life  without  any 
exception  whatsoever. 

How  many  different  kinds  of  friends  there 
are!  They  should  all  be  held  close  at  any  cost; 
for,  although  some  are  better  than  others, 
perhaps,  a  friend  of  whatever  kind  is  impor- 
tant; and  this  one  learns  as  one  grows  older. 
There  is  the  kind  that  when  you  need  help  has 
a  good  reason  just  at  the  moment,  of  course, 
why  it  is  impossible  to  extend  it. 

"I  can't  indorse  your  note,"  he  says,  "because 
I  have  an  agreement  with  my  partners  not  to." 

"I 'd  like  to  oblige  you,  but  I  can  explain 
why  at  the  moment,"  etc.,  etc. 

I  do  not  mean  to  criticize  this  sort  of  friend- 
ship; for  sometimes  it  is  a  matter  of  tempera- 
ment; and  sometimes  the  real  necessities  are 
such  that  the  friend  cannot  do  as  he  would  like 
to  do.    As  I  look  back  over  my  friends,  I  can 


18       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


remember  only  a  few  of  this  kind  and  a  good 
many  of  the  more  capable  sort.  One  especial 
friend  I  had  His  name  was  S.  V.  Harkness, 
and  from  the  first  of  our  acquaintance  he 
seemed  to  have  every  confidence  in  me. 

One  day  our  oil  warehouses  and  refinery 
burned  to  the  ground  in  a  few  hours  —  they 
were  absolutely  annihilated.  Though  they  were 
insured  for  many  hundred  thousands  of  dollars, 
of  course,  we  were  apprehensive  about  collecting 
such  a  large  amount  of  insurance,  and  feared  it 
might  take  some  time  to  arrange.  That  plant 
had  to  be  rebuilt  right  away,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  lay  the  financial  plans.  Mr.  Harkness  was 
interested  with  us  in  the  business,  and  I  said  to 
him: 

"I  may  want  to  call  upon  you  for  the  use 
of  some  money.  I  don't  know  that  we  shall 
need  it,  but  I  thought  I 'd  speak  to  you  in 
advance  about  it." 

He  took  in  the  situation  without  much  explain- 
ing on  my  part.  He  simply  heard  what  I  had  to 
say  and  he  was  a  man  of  very  few  words. 

"All  right,  J.  D.,  I  '11  give  you  all  I 've  got." 
This  was  all  he  said,  but  I  went  home  that 
night  relieved  of  anxiety.  As  it  turned  out, 
we  received  the  check  of  the  Liverpool,  London 
&   Globe  Insurance   Company  for  the  full 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  19 


amount  before  the  builders  required  the  pay- 
ments; and  while  we  did  n't  need  his  money, 
I  never  shall  forget  the  whole-souled  way  in 
which  he  offered  it. 

And  this  sort  of  experience  was  not,  I  am 
grateful  to  say,  rare  with  me,  I  was  always 
a  great  borrower  in  my  early  days;  the  busi- 
ness was  active  and  growing  fast,  and  the 
banks  seemed  very  willing  to  loan  me  the 
money.  About  this  time,  when  our  great  fire 
had  brought  up  some  new  conditions,  I  was 
studying  the  situation  to  see  what  our  cash 
requirements  would  be.  We  were  accustomed 
to  prepare  for  financial  emergencies  long  before 
we  needed  the  funds. 

Another  incident  occurred  at  this  time  which 
showed  again  the  kind  of  real  friends  we  had 
in  those  days,  but  I  did  not  hear  the  full  story 
of  it  until  long  years  after  the  event. 

There  was  one  bank  where  we  had  done 
a  great  deal  of  business,  and  a  friend  of  mine, 
Mr.  Stillman  Witt,  who  was  a  rich  man,  was 
one  of  the  directors.  At  a  meeting,  the  question 
came  up  as  to  what  the  bank  would  do  in  case 
we  wanted  more  money.  In  order  that  no  one 
might  doubt  his  own  position  on  the  subject, 
Mr.  Witt  called  for  his  strong-box,  and  said: 

"Here,  gentlemen,  these  young  men  are  all 


20       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


O.  K.,  and  if  they  want  to  borrow  more  money 
I  want  to  see  this  bank  advance  it  without 
hesitation,  and  if  you  want  more  security,  here 
it  is;  take  what  you  want." 

We  were  then  shipping  a  large  quantity  of 
oil  by  lake  and  canal,  to  save  in  transportation, 
and  it  took  additional  capital  to  carry  these 
shipments;  and  we  required  to  borrow  a  large 
amount  of  money.  We  had  already  made 
extensive  loans  from  another  bank,  whose  presi- 
dent informed  me  that  his  board  of  directors 
had  been  making  inquiries  respecting  our  large 
line  of  discounts,  and  had  stated  that  they 
would  probably  want  to  talk  with  me  on  the 
subject.  I  answered  that  I  would  be  very  glad 
of  the  opportunity  to  meet  the  board,  as  we 
would  require  a  great  deal  more  money  from 
the  bank.  Suffice  it  to  say,  we  got  all  we 
wanted,  but  I  was  not  asked  to  call  for  any 
further  explanations. 

But  I  fear  I  am  telling  too  much  about  banks 
and  money  and  business.  I  know  of  nothing 
more  despicable  and  pathetic  than  a  man  who 
devotes  all  the  waking  hours  of  the  day  to 
making  money  for  money's  sake.  If  I  were 
forty  years  younger,  I  should  like  to  go  into 
business  again,  for  the  association  with  inter- 
esting and  quick-minded  men  was  always  a 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  21 


great  pleasure.  But  I  have  no  dearth  of 
interests  to  fill  my  days,  and  so  long  as  I  live 
I  expect  to  go  on  and  develop  the  plans  which 
have  been  my  inspiration  for  a  lifetime. 

During  all  the  long  period  of  work,  which 
lasted  from  the  time  I  was  sixteen  years  old 
until  I  retired  from  active  business  when  I 
was  fifty-five,  I  must  admit  that  I  managed 
to  get  a  good  many  vacations  of  one  kind  or 
another,  because  of  the  willingness  of  my  most 
efficient  associates  to  assume  the  burdens  of 
the  business  which  they  were  so  eminently 
qualified  to  conduct. 

Of  detail  work  I  feel  I  have  done  my  full 
share.  As  I  began  my  business  life  as  a  book- 
keeper, I  learned  to  have  great  respect  for 
figures  and  facts,  no  matter  how  small  they 
were.  When  there  was  a  matter  of  account- 
ing to  be  done  in  connection  with  any  plan 
with  which  I  was  associated  in  the  earlier  years, 
I  usually  found  that  I  was  selected  to  under- 
take it.  I  had  a  passion  for  detail  which 
afterward  I  was  forced  to  strive  to  modify. 

At  Pocantico  Hills,  New  York,  where  I 
have  spent  portions  of  my  time  for  many  years 
in  an  old  house  where  the  fine  views  invite 
the  soul  and  where  we  can  live  simply  and 
quietly,  I  have  spent  many  delightful  hours, 


22       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


studying  the  beautiful  views,  the  trees,  and 
fine  landscape  effects  of  that  very  interest- 
ing section  of  the  Hudson  River,  and  this 
happened  in  the  days  when  I  seemed  to  need 
every  minute  for  the  absorbing  demands  of 
business.  So  I  fear  after  I  got  well  started, 
I  was  not  what  might  be  called  a  diligent 
business  man. 

This  phrase,  "diligent  in  business/'  reminds 
me  of  an  old  friend  of  mine  in  Cleveland  who 
was  devoted  to  his  work.  I  talked  to  him, 
and  no  doubt  bored  him  unspeakably,  on  my 
special  hobby,  which  has  always  been  what 
some  people  call  landscape  gardening,  but 
which  with  me  is  the  art  of  laying  out  roads 
and  paths  and  work  of  that  kind.  This  friend 
of  thirty-five  years  ago  plainly  disapproved 
of  a  man  in  business  wasting  his  time  on  what 
he  looked  upon  as  mere  foolishness. 

One  superb  spring  day  I  suggested  to  him 
that  he  should  spend  the  afternoon  with  me 
(a  most  unusual  and  reckless  suggestion  for 
a  business  man  to  make  in  those  days)  and  see 
some  beautiful  paths  through  the  woods  on 
my  place  which  I  had  been  planning  and  had 
about  completed.  I  went  so  far  as  to  tell  him 
that  I  would  give  him  a  real  treat. 

"I  cannot  do  it,  John,"  he  said,  "I  have  an 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  23 


important  matter  of  business  on  hand  this 
afternoon." 

"That  may  all  be,"  I  urged,  "but  it  will 
give  you  no  such  pleasure  as  you  '11  get  when 
you  see  those  paths  —  the  big  tree  on  each 
side  and  " 

"Go  on,  John,  with  your  talk  about  trees 
and  paths.  I  tell  you  I 've  got  an  ore  ship 
coming  in  and  our  mills  are  waiting  for  her." 
He  rubbed  his  hands  with  satisfaction  —  "I'd 
not  miss  seeing  her  come  in  for  all  the  wood 
paths  in  Christendom."  He  was  then  getting 
$120  to  $130  a  ton  for  Bessemer  steel  rails,  and  if 
his  mill  stopped  a  minute  waiting  for  ore,  he  felt 
that  he  was  missing  his  life's  chance. 

Perhaps  it  was  this  same  man  who  often 
gazed  out  into  the  lake  with  every  nerve  stretched 
to  try  to  see  an  ore  ship  approaching.  One 
day  one  of  his  friends  asked  him  if  he  could  see 
the  boat. 

"No-o,  no-o,"  he  reluctantly  admitted,  "but 
she 's  most  in  sight." 

This  ore  trade  was  of  great  and  absorbing 
interest  at  Cleveland.  My  old  employer  was 
paid  $4  a  ton  for  carrying  ore  from  the  Mar- 
quette regions  fifty  years  ago,  and  to  think  of 
the  wickedness  of  this  maker  of  woodland 
paths,  who  in  later  years  was  moving  the  ore 


24       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


in  great  ships  for  eighty  cents  a  ton  and  making 
a  fortune  at  it. 

All  this  reminds  me  of  my  experiences  in 
the  ore  business,  but  I  shall  come  to  that  later. 
I  want  to  say  something  about  landscape  garden- 
ing, to  which  I  have  devoted  a  great  deal  of  time 
for  more  than  thirty  years. 

THE  PLEASURES  OF  ROAD  PLANNING 

Like  my  old  friend,  others  may  be  sur- 
prised at  my  claim  to  be  an  amateur  landscape 
architect  in  a  small  way,  and  my  family  have 
been  known  to  employ  a  great  landscape  man 
to  make  quite  sure  that  I  did  not  ruin  the  place. 
The  problem  was,  just  where  to  put  the  new 
home  at  Pocantico  Hills,  which  has  recently  been 
built.  I  thought  I  had  the  advantage  of  knowing 
every  foot  of  the  land,  all  the  old  big  trees  were 
personal  friends  of  mine,  and  with  the  views 
of  any  given  point  I  was  perfectly  familiar  — 
I  had  studied  them  hundreds  of  times;  and 
after  this  great  landscape  architect  had  laid 
out  his  plans  and  had  driven  his  lines  of 
stakes,  I  asked  if  I  might  see  what  I  could  do 
with  the  job. 

In  a  few  days  I  had  worked  out  a  plan  so 
devised  that  the  roads  caught  just  the  best 
views  at  just  the  angles  where  in  driving  up 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  25 


the  hill  you  came  upon  impressive  outlooks, 
and  at  the  ending  was  the  final  burst  of  river, 
hill,  cloud,  and  great  sweep  of  country  to  crown 
the  whole;  and  here  I  fixed  my  stakes  to  show 
where  I  suggested  that  the  roads  should  run, 
and  finally  the  exact  place  where  the  house 
should  be. 

"Look  it  all  over,"  I  said,  "and  decide 
which  plan  is  best."  It  was  a  proud  moment 
when  this  real  authority  accepted  my  sug- 
gestions as  bringing  out  the  most  favoured 
spots  for  views  and  agreed  upon  the  site  of 
the  house.  How  many  miles  of  roads  I  have 
laid  out  in  my  time,  I  can  hardly  compute, 
but  I  have  often  kept  at  it  until  I  was  exhausted. 
While  surveying  roads,  I  have  run  the  lines 
until  darkness  made  it  impossible  to  see  the 
little  stakes  and  flags.  It  is  all  very  vain  of 
me  to  tell  of  these  landscape  enterprises,  but 
perhaps  they  will  offset  the  business  talks 
which  occupy  so  much  of  my  story. 

My  methods  of  attending  to  business  matters 
differed  from  those  of  most  well-conducted 
merchants  of  my  time  and  allowed  me  more 
freedom.  Even  after  the  chief  affairs  of  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  were  moved  to  New 
York,  I  spent  most  of  my  summers  at  our  home 
in  Cleveland,  and  I  do  still.    I  would  come 


26       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


to  New  York  when  my  presence  seemed 
necessary,  but  for  the  most  part  I  kept  in  touch 
with  the  business  through  our  own  telegraph 
wires,  and  was  left  free  to  attend  to  many 
things  which  interested  me  —  among  others, 
the  making  of  paths,  the  planting  of  trees,  and 
the  setting  out  of  little  forests  of  seedlings. 

Of  all  the  profitable  things  which  develop 
quickly  under  the  hand,  I  have  thought  my 
young  nurseries  show  the  greatest  yield.  We 
keep  a  set  of  account  books  for  each  place, 
and  I  was  amazed  not  long  ago  at  the  increase 
in  value  that  a  few  years  make  in  growing 
things,  when  we  came  to  remove  some  young 
trees  from  Westchester  County  to  Lakewood, 
New  Jersey.  We  plant  our  young  trees, 
especially  evergreens,  by  the  thousand  —  I 
think  we  have  put  in  as  many  as  ten  thousand 
at  once,  and  let  them  develop,  to  be  used  later 
in  some  of  our  planting  schemes.  If  we  transfer 
young  trees  from  Pocantico  to  our  home  in 
Lakewood,  we  charge  one  place  and  credit  the 
other  for  these  trees  at  the  market  rate.  We 
are  our  own  best  customers,  and  we  make  a 
small  fortune  out  of  ourselves  by  selling  to  our 
New  Jersey  place  at  $1.50  or  $2.00  each,  trees 
which  originally  cost  us  only  five  or  ten  cents  at 
Pocantico. 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  27 


In  nursery  stock,  as  in  other  things,  the 
advantage  of  doing  things  on  a  large  scale 
reveals  itself.  The  pleasure  and  satisfaction 
of  saving  and  moving  large  trees  —  trees,  say, 
from  ten  to  twenty  inches  in  diameter,  or 
even  more  in  some  cases  —  has  been  for  years 
a  source  of  great  interest.  We  build  our 
movers  ourselves,  and  work  with  our  own 
men,  and  it  is  truly  surprising  what  liberties 
you  can  take  with  trees,  if  you  once  learn  how 
to  handle  these  monsters.  We  have  moved 
trees  ninety  feet  high,  and  many  seventy  or 
eighty  feet.  And  they  naturally  are  by  no 
means  young.  At  one  time  or  another  we 
have  tried  almost  all  kinds  of  trees,  including 
some  which  the  authorities  said  could  not 
be  moved  with  success.  Perhaps  the  most 
daring  experiments  were  with  horse-chestnuts. 
We  took  up  large  trees,  transported  them  con- 
siderable distances,  some  of  them  after  they 
were  actually  in  flower,  all  at  a  cost  of  twenty 
dollars  per  tree,  and  lost  very  few.  We  were 
so  successful  that  we  became  rather  reckless, 
trying  experiments  out  of  season,  but  when  we 
worked  on  plans  we  had  already  tried,  our 
results  were  remarkably  satisfactory. 

Taking  our  experiences  in  many  hundreds 
of  trees  of  various  kinds  in  and  out  of  season, 


28       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


and  including  the  time  when  we  were  learning 
the  art,  our  total  loss  has  been  something  less 
than  10  per  cent.,  probably  more  nearly  6  or  7 
per  cent.  A  whole  tree-moving  campaign  in 
a  single  season  has  been  accomplished  with 
a  loss  of  about  3  per  cent.  I  am  willing  to 
admit  that  in  the  case  of  the  larger  trees  the 
growth  has  been  retarded  perhaps  two  years, 
but  this  is  a  small  matter,  for  people  no  longer 
young  wish  to  get  the  effects  they  desire  at  once, 
and  the  modern  tree-mover  does  it.  We  have 
grouped  and  arranged  clumps  of  big  spruces  to 
fit  the  purposes  we  were  aiming  for,  and  some- 
times have  completely  covered  a  hillside  with 
them.  Oaks  we  have  not  been  successful  with 
except  when  comparatively  young,  and  we  don't 
try  to  move  oaks  and  hickories  when  they  have 
come  near  to  maturity ;  but  we  have  made  some 
successful  experiments  with  bass  wood,  and  one 
of  these  we  have  moved  three  times  without 
injury.  Birches  have  generally  baffled  us,  but 
evergreens,  except  cedars,  have  been  almost 
invariably  successfully  handled. 

This  planning  for  good  views  must  have  been 
an  early  passion  with  me.  I  remember  when 
I  was  hardly  more  than  a  boy  I  wanted  to  cut 
away  a  big  tree  which  I  thought  interfered 
with  the  view  from  the  windows  of  the  dining- 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  29 


room  of  our  home.  I  was  for  cutting  it  down, 
but  some  other  members  of  the  family  objected, 
though  my  dear  mother,  I  think,  sympathized 
with  me,  as  she  said  one  day:  "You  know,  my 
son,  we  have  breakfast  at  eight  o'clock,  and 
I  think  if  the  tree  were  felled  some  time  before 
we  sat  down  to  table,  there  would  probably 
be  no  great  complaint  when  the  family  saw 
the  view  which  the  fallen  tree  revealed." 
So  it  turned  out. 


THE  DIFFICULT  ART  OF  GETTING 


CHAPTER  II 


The  Difficult  Art  of  Getting 

TO  MY  father  I  owe  a  great  debt  in  that 
he  himself  trained  me  to  practical  ways. 
He  was  engaged  in  different  enterprises;  he  used 
to  tell  me  about  these  things,  explaining  their 
significance;  and  he  taught  me  the  principles 
and  methods  of  business.  From  early  boy- 
hood I  kept  a  little  book  which  I  remember 
I  called  Ledger  A  —  and  this  little  volume  is 
still  preserved  —  containing  my  receipts  and 
expenditures  as  well  as  an  account  of  the 
small  sums  that  I  was  taught  to  give  away 
regularly. 

Naturally,  people  of  modest  means  lead  a 
closer  family  life  than  those  who  have  plenty  of 
servants  to  do  everything  for  them.  I  count  it 
a  blessing  that  I  was  of  the  former  class.  When 
I  was  seven  or  eight  years  old  I  engaged  in  my 
first  business  enterprise  with  the  assistance 
of  my  mother.  I  owned  some  turkeys,  and 
she  presented  me  with  the  curds  from  the  milk 
to  feed  them.    I  took  care  of  the  birds  myself, 

33 


34       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


and  sold  them  all  in  business-like  fashion. 
My  receipts  were  all  profit,  as  I  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  expense  account,  and  my  records 
were  kept  as  carefully  as  I  knew  how. 

We  thoroughly  enjoyed  this  little  business 
affair,  and  I  can  still  close  my  eyes,  and  dis- 
tinctly see  the  gentle  and  dignified  birds  walk- 
ing quietly  along  the  brook  and  through  the 
woods,  cautiously  stealing  the  way  to  their 
nests.  To  this  day  I  enjoy  the  sight  of  a  flock 
of  turkeys,  and  never  miss  an  opportunity  of 
studying  them. 

My  mother  was  a  good  deal  of  a  discipli- 
narian, and  upheld  the  standard  of  the  family 
with  a  birch  switch  when  it  showed  a 
tendency  to  deteriorate.  Once,  when  I  was 
being  punished  for  some  unfortunate  doings 
which  had  taken  place  in  the  village  school, 
I  felt  called  upon  to  explain  after  the  whip- 
ping had  begun  that  I  was  innocent  of  the 
charge. 

" Never  mind/'  said  my  mother,  "we  have 
started  in  on  this  whipping,  and  it  will  do  for 
the  next  time."  This  attitude  was  maintained 
to  its  final  conclusion  in  many  ways.  One 
night,  I  remember,  we  boys  could  not  resist 
the  temptation  to  go  skating  in  the  moonlight, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  we  had  been 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  35 


expressly  forbidden  to  skate  at  night.  Almost 
before  we  got  fairly  started  we  heard  a  cry 
for  help,  and  found  a  neighbour,  who  had 
broken  through  the  ice,  was  in  danger  of 
drowning.  By  pushing  a  pole  to  him  we  suc- 
ceeded in  fishing  him  out,  and  restored  him 
safe  and  sound  to  his  grateful  family.  As  we 
were  not  generally  expected  to  save  a  man's 
life  every  time  we  skated,  my  brother  William 
and  I  felt  that  there  were  mitigating  circum- 
stances connected  with  this  particular  dis- 
obedience which  might  be  taken  into  account 
in  the  final  judgment,  but  this  idea  proved  to 
be  erroneous. 

STARTING  AT  WORK 

Although  the  plan  had  been  to  send  me  to 
college,  it  seemed  best  at  sixteen  that  I  should 
leave  the  high  school  in  which  I  had  nearly  com- 
pleted the  course  and  go  into  a  commercial  col- 
lege in  Cleveland  for  a  few  months.  They 
taught  bookkeeping  and  some  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  commercial  transactions. 
This  training,  though  it  lasted  only  a  few  months, 
was  very  valuable  to  me.  But  how  to  get  a 
job  —  that  was  the  question.  I  tramped  the 
streets  for  days  and  weeks,  asking  merchants 
and  storekeepers  if  they  did  n't  want  a  boy; 


36       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


but  the  offer  of  my  services  met  with  little  appre- 
ciation. No  one  wanted  a  boy,  and  very  few 
showed  any  overwhelming  anxiety  to  talk  with 
me  on  the  subject.  At  last  one  man  on  the 
Cleveland  docks  told  me  that  I  might  come 
back  after  the  noonday  meal.  I  was  elated; 
it  now  seemed  that  I  might  get  a  start. 

I  was  in  a  fever  of  anxiety  lest  I  should  lose 
this  one  opportunity  that  I  had  unearthed. 
When  finally  at  what  seemed  to  me  the 
time,  I  presented  myself  to  my  would-be 
employer: 

"We  will  give  you  a  chance,"  he  said,  but 
not  a  word  passed  between  us  about  pay. 
This  was  September  26,  1855.  I  joyfully 
went  to  work.  The  name  of  the  firm  was 
Hewitt  &  Tuttle. 

In  beginning  the  work  I  had  some  advan- 
tages. My  father's  training,  as  I  have  said, 
was  practical,  the  course  at  the  commercial 
college  had  taught  me  the  rudiments  of  busi- 
ness, and  I  thus  had  a  groundwork  to  build 
upon.  I  was  fortunate,  also,  in  working 
under  the  supervision  of  the  bookkeeper,  who 
was  a  fine  disciplinarian,  and  well  disposed 
toward  me. 

When  January,  1856,  arrived,  Mr.  Tuttle 
presented  me  with  $50  for  my  three  months' 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  37 


work,  which  was  no  doubt  all  that  I  was  worth, 
and  it  was  entirely  satisfactory. 

For  the  next  year,  with  $25  a  month,  I  kept 
my  position,  learning  the  details  and  clerical 
work  connected  with  such  a  business.  It  was 
a  wholesale  produce  commission  and  forward- 
ing concern,  my  department  being  particularly 
the  office  duties.  Just  above  me  was  the 
bookkeeper  for  the  house,  and  he  received 
$2,000  a  year  salary  in  lieu  of  his  share  of  the 
profits  of  the  firm  of  which  he  was  a  member. 
At  the  end  of  the  first  fiscal  year  when  he  left 
I  assumed  his  clerical  and  bookkeeping  work, 
for  which  I  received  the  salary  of  $500. 

As  I  look  back  upon  this  term  of  business 
apprenticeship,  I  can  see  that  its  influence 
was  vitally  important  in  its  relations  to  what 
came  after. 

To  begin  with,  my  work  was  done  in  the 
office  of  the  firm  itself.  I  was  almost  always 
present  when  they  talked  of  their  affairs,  laid 
out  their  plans,  and  decided  upon  a  course 
of  action.  I  thus  had  an  advantage  over  other 
boys  of  my  age,  who  were  quicker  and  who 
could  figure  and  write  better  than  I.  The  firm 
conducted  a  business  with  so  many  rami- 
fications that  this  education  was  quite  exten- 
sive.     They    owned    dwelling-houses,  ware- 


38       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


houses,  and  buildings  which  were  rented  for 
offices  and  a  variety  of  uses,  and  I  had  to 
collect  the  rents.  They  shipped  by  rail,  canal, 
and  lake.  There  were  many  different  kinds  of 
negotiations  and  transactions  going  on,  and 
with  all  these  I  was  in  close  touch. 

Thus  it  happened  that  my  duties  were  vastly 
more  interesting  than  those  of  an  office-boy  in 
a  large  house  to-day.  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  the 
work.  Gradually  the  auditing  of  accounts  was 
left  in  my  hands.  All  the  bills  were  first  passed 
upon  by  me,  and  I  took  this  duty  very  seriously. 

One  day,  I  remember,  I  was  in  a  neigh- 
bour's office,  when  the  local  plumber  presented 
himself  with  a  bill  about  a  yard  long.  This 
neighbour  was  one  of  those  very  busy  men.  He 
was  connected  with  what  seemed  to  me  an 
unlimited  number  of  enterprises.  He  merely 
glanced  at  this  tiresome  bill,  turned  to  the 
bookkeeper,  and  said  : 

"Please  pay  this  bill.** 

As  I  was  studying  the  same  plumber's  bills 
in  great  detail,  checking  every  item,  if  only 
for  a  few  cents,  and  finding  it  to  be  greatly 
to  the  firm's  interest  to  do  so,  this  casual  way 
of  conducting  affairs  did  not  appeal  to  me.  I 
had  trained  myself  to  the  point  of  view  doubtless 
held  by  many  young  men  in  business  to-day, 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  39 


that  my  check  on  a  bill  was  the  executive  act 
which  released  my  employer's  money  from  the 
till  and  was  attended  with  more  responsibility 
than  the  spending  of  my  own  funds.  I  made  up 
my  mind  that  such  business  methods  could  not 
succeed. 

Passing  bills,  collecting  rents,  adjusting  claims, 
and  work  of  this  kind  brought  me  in  association 
with  a  great  variety  of  people.  I  had  to  learn 
how  to  get  on  with  all  these  different  classes,  and 
still  keep  the  relations  between  them  and  the 
house  pleasant.  One  particular  kind  of  negotia- 
tion came  to  me  which  took  all  the  skill  I  could 
master  to  bring  to  a  successful  end. 

We  would  receive,  for  example,  a  shipment 
of  marble  from  Vermont  to  Cleveland.  This 
involved  handling  by  railroad,  canal,  and  lake 
boats.  The  cost  of  losses  or  damage  had 
to  be  somehow  fixed  between  these  three 
different  carriers,  and  it  taxed  all  the  ingenuity 
of  a  boy  of  seventeen  to  work  out  this  problem 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  including 
my  employers.  But  I  thought  the  task  no 
hardship,  and  so  far  as  I  can  remember  I 
never  had  any  disagreement  of  moment  with 
any  of  these  transportation  interests.  This 
experience  in  conducting  all  sorts  of  transac- 
tions at  such  an  impressionable  age,  with  the 


40       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


helping  hand  of  my  superiors  to  fall  back 
upon  in  an  emergency  —  was  highly  interesting 
to  me.  It  was  my  first  step  in  learning  the 
principle  of  negotiation,  of  which  I  hope  to 
speak  later. 

The  training  that  comes  from  working  for 
some  one  else,  to  whom  we  feel  a  responsi- 
bility, I  am  sure  was  of  great  value  to  me. 

I  should  estimate  that  the  salaries  of  that 
time  were  far  less  than  half  of  what  is  paid 
for  equivalent  positions  to-day.  The  next  year 
I  was  offered  a  salary  of  $700,  but  thought  I 
was  worth  $800.  We  had  not  settled  the 
matter  by  April,  and  as  a  favourable  oppor- 
tunity had  presented  itself  for  carrying  on  the 
same  business  on  my  own  account,  I  resigned 
my  position. 

In  those  days,  in  Cleveland,  everyone  knew 
almost  everyone  else  in  town.  Among  the 
merchants  was  a  young  Englishman  named 
M.  B.  Clark,  perhaps  ten  years  older  than  I, 
who  wanted  to  establish  a  business  and  was 
in  search  of  a  partner.  He  had  $2,000  to 
contribute  to  the  firm,  and  wanted  a  partner 
who  could  furnish  an  equal  amount.  This 
seemed  a  good  opportunity  for  me.  I  had  saved 
up  $700  or  $800,  but  where  to  get  the  rest  was  a 
problem. 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  41 


I  talked  the  matter  over  with  my  father,  who 
told  me  that  he  had  always  intended  to  give 
$1,000  to  each  of  his  children  when  they  reached 
twenty-one.  He  said  that  if  I  wished  to  receive 
my  share  at  once,  instead  of  waiting,  he  would 
advance  it  to  me  and  I  could  pay  interest  upon 
the  sum  until  I  was  twenty-one. 

"But,  John,"  he  added,  "the  rate  is  ten." 

At  that  time,  10  per  cent,  a  year  interest 
was  a  very  common  rate  for  such  loans.  At 
the  banks  the  rate  might  not  have  been  quite 
so  high;  but  of  course  the  financial  institutions 
could  not  supply  all  the  demands,  so  there 
was  much  private  borrowing  at  high  figures. 
As  I  needed  this  money  for  the  partnership, 
I  gladly  accepted  my  father's  offer,  and  so 
began  business  as  the  junior  partner  of  the 
new  firm,  which  was  called  Clark  &  Rocke- 
feller. 

It  was  a  great  thing  to  be  my  own  employer. 
Mentally  I  swelled  with  pride  —  a  partner 
in  a  firm  with  $4,000  capital!  Mr.  Clark 
attended  to  the  buying  and  selling,  and  I  took 
charge  of  the  finance  and  the  books.  We  at 
once  began  to  do  a  large  business,  dealing 
in  carload  lots  and  cargoes  of  produce.  Nat- 
urally we  soon  needed  more  money  to  take  care 
of  the  increasing  trade.    There  was  nothing 


42       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


to  do  but  to  attempt  to  borrow  from  a  bank. 
But  would  the  bank  lend  to  us  ? 

THE  FIRST  LOAN 

I  went  to  a  bank  president  whom  I  knew, 
and  who  knew  me.  I  remember  perfectly  how 
anxious  I  was  to  get  that  loan  and  to  establish 
myself  favourably  with  the  banker.  This  gen- 
tleman was  T.  P.  Handy,  a  sweet  and  gentle 
old  man,  well  known  as  a  high-grade,  beautiful 
character.  For  fifty  years  he  was  interested 
in  young  men.  He  knew  me  as  a  boy  in  the 
Cleveland  schools.  I  gave  him  all  the  partic- 
ulars of  our  business,  telling  him  frankly  about 
our  affairs  —  what  we  wanted  to  use  the  money 
for,  etc.,  etc.  I  waited  for  the  verdict  with 
almost  trembling  eagerness. 

"How  much  do  you  want  ?"  he  said. 

"Two  thousand  dollars." 

"All  right,  Mr.  Rockefeller,  you  can  have 
it,"  he  replied.  "Just  give  me  your  own 
warehouse  receipts;  they  're  good  enough 
for  me." 

As  I  left  that  bank,  my  elation  can  hardly 
be  imagined.  I  held  up  my  head  —  think  of 
it,  a  bank  had  trusted  me  for  $2,000!  I  felt 
that  I  was  now  a  man  of  importance  in  the 
community. 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  43 


For  long  years  after  the  head  of  this  bank 
was  a  friend  indeed ;  he  loaned  me  money  when 
I  needed  it,  and  I  needed  it  almost  all  the  time, 
and  all  the  money  he  had.  It  was  a  source 
of  gratification  that  later  I  was  able  to  go  to 
him  and  recommend  that  he  should  make  a 
certain  investment  in  Standard  Oil  stock.  He 
agreed  that  he  would  like  to  do  so,  but  he  said 
that  the  sum  involved  was  not  at  the  moment 
available,  and  so  at  my  suggestion  I  turned 
banker  for  him,  and  in  the  end  he  took  out 
his  principal  with  a  very  handsome  profit. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  testify  even  at  this  late  date 
to  his  great  kindness  and  faith  in  me. 

STICKING  TO  BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES 

Mr.  Handy  trusted  me  because  he  believed 
we  would  conduct  our  young  business  on  con- 
servative and  proper  lines,  and  I  well  remem- 
ber about  this  time  an  example  of  how  hard 
it  is  sometimes  to  live  up  to  what  one  knows 
is  the  right  business  principle.  Not  long  after 
our  concern  was  started  our  best  customer  — 
that  is,  the  man  who  made  the  largest  con- 
signments —  asked  that  we  should  allow  him 
to  draw  in  advance  on  current  shipments 
before  the  produce  or  a  bill  of  lading  were 
actually  in  hand.    We,  of  course,  wished  to 


44       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


oblige  this  important  man,  but  I,  as  the  finan- 
cial member  of  the  firm,  objected,  though  I 
feared  we  should  lose  his  business. 

The  situation  seemed  very  serious;  my  part- 
ner was  impatient  with  me  for  refusing  to 
yield,  and  in  this  dilemma  I  decided  to  go 
personally  to  see  if  I  could  not  induce  our 
customer  to  relent.  I  had  been  unusually 
fortunate  when  I  came  face  to  face  with  men 
in  winning  their  friendship,  and  my  partner's 
displeasure  put  me  on  my  mettle.  I  felt  that 
when  I  got  into  touch  with  this  gentleman  I 
could  convince  him  that  what  he  proposed 
would  result  in  a  bad  precedent.  My  reason- 
ing (in  my  own  mind)  was  logical  and  con- 
vincing. I  went  to  see  him,  and  put  forth  all 
the  arguments  that  I  had  so  carefully  thought 
out.  But  he  stormed  about,  and  in  the 
end  I  had  the  further  humiliation  of  con- 
fessing to  my  partner  that  I  had  failed. 
I  had  been  able  to  accomplish  absolutely 
nothing. 

Naturally,  he  was  very  much  disturbed  at 
the  possibility  of  losing  our  most  valued  con- 
nection, but  I  insisted  and  we  stuck  to  our 
principles  and  refused  to  give  the  shipper  the 
accommodation  he  had  asked.  What  was  our 
surprise  and  gratification  to  find  that  he  con- 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  45 


tinued  his  relations  with  us  as  though  nothing 
had  happened,  and  did  not  again  refer  to  the 
matter.  I  learned  afterward  that  an  old  country 
banker,  named  John  Gardener,  of  Norwalk, 
O.,  who  had  much  to  do  with  our  consignor, 
was  watching  this  little  matter  intently,  and  I 
have  ever  since  believed  that  he  originated  the 
suggestion  to  tempt  us  to  do  what  we  stated 
we  did  not  do  as  a  test,  and  his  story  about 
our  firm  stand  for  what  we  regarded  as  sound 
business  principles  did  us  great  good. 

About  this  time  I  began  to  go  out  and  solicit 
business  —  a  branch  of  work  I  had  never  before 
attempted.  I  undertook  to  visit  every  person 
in  our  part  of  the  country  who  was  in  any  way 
connected  with  the  kind  of  business  that  we 
were  engaged  in,  and  went  pretty  well  over  the 
states  of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  I  made  up  my  mind 
that  I  could  do  this  best  by  simply  introducing 
our  firm,  and  not  pressing  for  immediate  con- 
signments. I  told  them  that  I  represented 
Clark  &  Rockefeller,  commission  merchants, 
and  that  I  had  no  wish  to  interfere  with  any 
connection  that  they  had  at  present,  but  if  the 
opportunity  offered  we  should  be  glad  to  serve 
them,  etc.,  etc. 

To  our  great  surprise,  business  came  in 
upon  us  so  fast  that  we  hardly  knew  how  to 


46       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


take  care  of  it,  and  in  the  first  year  our  sales 
amounted  to  half  a  million  dollars. 

Then,  and  indeed  for  many  years  after,  it 
seemed  as  though  there  was  no  end  to  the 
money  needed  to  carry  on  and  develop  the 
business.  As  our  successes  began  to  come,  I 
seldom  put  my  head  upon  the  pillow  at  night 
without  speaking  a  few  words  to  myself  in 
this  wise: 

"Now  a  little  success,  soon  you  will  fall 
down,  soon  you  will  be  overthrown.  Because 
you  have  got  a  start,  you  think  you  are  quite 
a  merchant;  look  out,  or  you  will  lose  your 
head  —  go  steady.55  These  intimate  conver- 
sations with  myself,  I  am  sure,  had  a  great 
influence  on  my  life.  I  was  afraid  I  could 
not  stand  my  prosperity,  and  tried  to  teach 
myself  not  to  get  puffed  up  with  any  foolish 
notions. 

My  loans  from  my  father  were  many.  Our 
relations  on  finances  were  a  source  of  some 
anxiety  to  me,  and  were  not  quite  so  humorous 
as  they  seem  now  as  I  look  back  at  them. 
Occasionally  he  would  come  to  me  and  say  that 
if  I  needed  money  in  the  business  he  would  be 
able  to  loan  some,  and  as  I  always  needed 
capital  I  was  glad  indeed  to  get  it,  even 
at  10  per  cent,  interest.    Just  at  the  moment 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  47 


when  I  required  the  money  most  he  was  apt 
to  say: 

"My  son,  I  find  I  have  got  to  have  that 
money." 

"Of  course,  you  shall  have  it  at  once,"  I 
would  answer,  but  I  knew  that  he  was  testing 
me,  and  that  when  I  paid  him,  he  would  hold 
the  money  without  its  earning  anything  for  a 
little  time,  and  then  offer  it  back  later.  I 
confess  that  this  little  discipline  should  have 
done  me  good,  and  perhaps  did,  but  while  I 
concealed  it  from  him,  the  truth  is  I  was  not 
particularly  pleased  with  his  application  of 
tests  to  discover  if  my  financial  ability  was 
equal  to  such  shocks. 

INTEREST  AT  10  PER  CENT. 

These  experiences  with  my  father  remind 
me  that  in  the  early  days  there  was  often  much 
discussion  as  to  what  should  be  paid  for  the 
use  of  money.  Many  people  protested  that  the 
rate  of  10  per  cent,  was  outrageous,  and  none 
but  a  wicked  man  would  exact  such  a  charge. 
I  was  accustomed  to  argue  that  money  was 
worth  what  it  would  bring  —  no  one  would 
pay  10  per  cent.,  or  5  per  cent.,  or  3  per 
cent,  unless  the  borrower  believed  that  at 
this  rate  it  was  profitable  to  employ  it.  As 


48       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


I  was  always  the  borrower  at  that  time,  I 
certainly  did  not  argue  for  paying  more  than 
was  necessary. 

Among  the  most  persistent  and  heated  dis- 
cussions I  ever  had  were  those  with  the  dear 
old  lady  who  kept  the  boarding-house  where 
my  brother  William  and  I  lived  when  we  were 
away  from  home  at  school.  I  used  to  greatly 
enjoy  these  talks,  for  she  was  an  able  woman 
and  a  good  talker,  and  as  she  charged  us  only 
a  dollar  a  week  for  board  and  lodging,  and  fed 
us  well,  I  certainly  was  her  friend.  This  was 
about  the  usual  price  for  board  in  the  small 
towns  in  those  days,  where  the  produce  was 
raised  almost  entirely  on  the  place. 

This  estimable  lady  was  violently  opposed 
to  loaners  obtaining  high  rates  of  interest, 
and  we  had  frequent  and  earnest  arguments 
on  the  subject.  She  knew  that  I  was  accus- 
tomed to  make  loans  for  my  father,  and  she 
was  familiar  with  the  rates  secured.  But  all 
the  arguments  in  the  world  did  not  change 
the  rate,  and  it  came  down  only  when  the  sup- 
ply of  money  grew  more  plentiful. 

I  have  usually  found  that  important  altera- 
tions in  public  opinion  in  regard  to  business 
matters  have  been  of  slow  growth  along  the 
line  of  proved  economic  theory  —  very  rarely 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  49 


have  improvements  in  these  relationships  come 
about  through  hastily  devised  legislation. 

One  can  hardly  realize  how  difficult  it  was 
to  get  capital  for  active  business  enterprises 
at  that  time.  In  the  country  farther  west  much 
higher  rates  were  paid,  which  applied  usually 
to  personal  loans  on  which  a  business  risk  was 
run,  but  it  shows  how  different  the  conditions 
for  young  business  men  were  then  than  now. 

A  NIMBLE  BORROWER 

Speaking  of  borrowing  at  the  banks  reminds 
me  of  one  of  the  most  strenuous  financial  efforts 
I  ever  made.  We  had  to  raise  the  money  to 
accept  an  offer  for  a  large  business.  It  required 
many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  —  and 
in  cash  —  securities  would  not  answer.  I 
received  the  message  at  about  noon  and  had  to 
get  off  on  the  three-o'clock  train.  I  drove  from 
bank  to  bank,  asking  each  president  or  cashier, 
whomever  I  could  find  first,  to  get  ready  for  me 
all  the  funds  he  could  possibly  lay  hands  on. 
I  told  them  I  would  be  back  to  get  the  money 
later.  I  rounded  up  all  of  our  banks  in  the  city, 
and  made  a  second  journey  to  get  the  money, 
and  kept  going  until  I  secured  the  necessary 
amount.  With  this  I  was  off  on  the  three- 
o'clock    train,    and    closed    the  transaction. 


50       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


In  these  early  days  I  was  a  good  deal  of 
a  traveller,  visiting  our  plants,  making  new 
connections,  seeing  people,  arranging  plans  to 
extend  our  business  —  and  it  often  called  for 
very  rapid  work. 

RAISING  CHURCH  FUNDS 

When  I  was  but  seventeen  or  eighteen  I  was 
elected  as  a  trustee  in  the  church.  It  was 
a  mission  branch,  and  occasionally  I  had  to 
hear  members  who  belonged  to  the  main  body 
speak  of  the  mission  as  though  it  were  not  quite 
so  good  as  the  big  mother  church.  This 
strengthened  our  resolve  to  show  them  that  we 
could  paddle  our  own  canoe. 

Our  first  church  was  not  a  very  grand  affair, 
and  there  was  a  mortgage  of  $2,000  on  it  which 
had  been  a  dispiriting  influence  for  years. 

The  holder  of  the  mortgage  had  long 
demanded  that  he  should  be  paid,  but  some- 
how even  the  interest  was  barely  kept  up,  and 
the  creditor  finally  threatened  to  sell  us  out. 
As  it  happened,  the  money  had  been  lent  by  a 
deacon  in  the  church,  but  notwithstanding 
this  fact,  he  felt  that  he  should  have  his  money, 
and  perhaps  he  really  needed  it.  Anyhow, 
he  proposed  to  take  such  steps  as  were 
necessary  to  get  it.    The  matter  came  to  a  head 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  51 


one  Sunday  morning,  when  the  minister 
announced  from  the  pulpit  that  the  $2,000  would 
have  to  be  raised,  or  we  should  lose  our  church 
building.  I  therefore  found  myself  at  the  door 
of  the  church  as  the  congregation  came  and 
went. 

As  each  member  came  by  I  buttonholed 
him,  and  got  him  to  promise  to  give  something 
toward  the  extinguishing  of  that  debt.  I 
pleaded  and  urged,  and  almost  threatened. 
As  each  one  promised,  I  put  his  name  and  the 
amount  down  in  my  little  book,  and  continued 
to  solicit  from  every  possible  subscriber. 

This  campaign  for  raising  the  money  which 
started  that  morning  after  church,  lasted  for 
several  months.  It  was  a  great  undertaking 
to  raise  such  a  sum  of  money  in  small  amounts 
ranging  from  a  few  cents  to  the  more  magnifi- 
cent promises  of  gifts  to  be  paid  at  the  rate  of 
twenty-five  or  fifty  cents  per  week.  The  plan 
absorbed  me.  I  contributed  what  I  could,  and 
my  first  ambition  to  earn  more  money  was 
aroused  by  this  and  similar  undertakings  in 
which  I  was  constantly  engaged. 

But  at  last  the  $2,000  was  all  in  hand  and  a 
proud  day  it  was  when  the  debt  was  extin- 
guished. I  hope  the  members  of  the  mother 
church  were  properly  humiliated  to  see  how  far 


52       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


we  had  gone  beyond  their  expectations,  but  I  do 
not  now  recall  that  they  expressed  the  surprise 
that  we  flattered  ourselves  they  must  have  felt. 

The  begging  experiences  I  had  at  that  time 
were  full  of  interest.  I  went  at  the  task  with 
pride  rather  than  the  reverse,  and  I  continued 
it  until  my  increasing  cares  and  responsibilities 
compelled  me  to  resign  the  actual  working  out 
of  details  to  others. 


THE  STANDARD  OIL  COMPANY 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Standard  Oil  Company 

IT  WOULD  be  surprising  if  in  an  organization 
which  included  a  great  number  of  men  there 
should  not  be  an  occasional  employee  here 
and  there  who  acted,  in  connection  with  the 
business  or  perhaps  in  conducting  his  own 
affairs,  in  a  way  which  might  be  criticized. 
Even  in  a  comparatively  small  organization  it 
is  well-nigh  impossible  to  restrain  this  occasional 
man  who  is  over-zealous  for  his  own  or  his 
company's  advancement.  To  judge  the  char- 
acter of  all  the  members  of  a  great  organi- 
zation or  the  organization  itself  by  the  actions 
of  a  few  individuals  would  be  manifestly  unfair. 

It  has  been  said  that  I  forced  the  men  who 
became  my  partners  in  the  oil  business  to  join 
with  me.  I  would  not  have  been  so  short- 
sighted. If  it  were  true  that  I  followed  such 
tactics,  I  ask,  would  it  have  been  possible  to 
make  of  such  men  life-long  companions  ?  Would 
they  accept,  and  remain  for  many  years  in 
positions  of  the  greatest  trust,  and  finally,  could 

55 


56       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


any  one  have  formed  of  such  men,  if  they  had 
been  so  browbeaten,  a  group  which  has  for  all 
these  years  worked  in  loyal  harmony,  with 
fair  dealing  among  themselves  as  well  as  with 
others,  building  up  efficiency  and  acting  in 
entire  unity?  This  powerful  organization  has 
not  only  lasted  but  its  efficiency  has  increased. 
For  fourteen  years  I  have  been  out  of  business, 
and  in  eight  or  ten  years  went  only  once  to 
the  company's  office. 

In  the  summer  of  1907  I  visited  again  the 
room  at  the  top  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company's 
building,  where  the  officers  of  the  company  and 
the  heads  of  departments  have  had  their  luncheon 
served  for  many  years.  I  was  surprised  to 
find  so  many  men  who  had  come  to  the  front 
since  my  last  visit  years  ago.  Afterward  I 
had  an  opportunity  to  talk  with  old  associates 
and  many  new  ones,  and  it  was  a  source  of 
great  gratification  to  me  to  find  that  the  same 
spirit  of  cooperation  and  harmony  existed 
unchanged.  This  practice  of  lunching  together, 
a  hundred  or  more  at  long  tables  in  most  inti- 
mate and  friendly  association,  is  another  indi- 
cation of  what  I  contend,  slight  as  it  may  seem 
to  be  at  first  thought.  Would  these  people  seek 
each  other's  companionship  day  after  day  if 
they  had  been  forced  into  this  relation  ?  People 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  57 


in  such  a  position  do  not  go  on  for  long  in  a 
pleasant  and  congenial  intimacy. 

For  years  the  Standard  Oil  Company  has 
developed  step  by  step,  and  I  am  convinced 
that  it  has  done  well  its  work  of  supplying  to 
the  people  the  products  from  petroleum  at 
prices  which  have  decreased  as  the  efficiency 
of  the  business  has  been  built  up.  It  gradually 
extended  its  services  first  to  the  large  centres,  and 
then  to  towns,  and  now  to  the  smallest  places, 
going  to  the  homes  of  its  customers,  delivering 
the  oil  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  actual 
users.  This  same  system  is  being  followed  out 
in  various  parts  of  the  world.  The  company 
has,  for  example,  three  thousand  tank  wagons 
supplying  American  oil  to  towns  and  even 
small  hamlets  in  Europe.  Its  own  depots  and 
employees  deliver  it  in  a  somewhat  similar 
way  in  Japan,  China,  India,  and  the  chief 
countries  of  the  world.  Do  you  think  this 
trade  has  been  developed  by  anything  but 
hard  work  ? 

This  plan  of  selling  our  products  direct  to 
the  consumer  and  the  exceptionally  rapid 
growth  of  the  business  bred  a  certain  antago- 
nism which  I  suppose  could  not  have  been 
avoided,  but  this  same  idea  of  dealing  with  the 
consumer  directly  has  been  followed  by  others 


58        RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


and  in  many  lines  of  trade,  without  creating, 
so  far  as  I  recall,  any  serious  opposition. 

This  is  a  very  interesting  and  important 
point,  and  I  have  often  wondered  if  the  criticism 
which  centred  upon  us  did  not  come  from 
the  fact  that  we  were  among  the  first,  if  not  the 
first,  to  work  out  the  problems  of  direct  selling 
to  the  user  on  a  broad  scale.  This  was  done 
in  a  fair  spirit  and  with  due  consideration 
for  every  one's  rights.  We  did  not  ruthlessly 
go  after  the  trade  of  our  competitors  and  attempt 
to  ruin  it  by  cutting  prices  or  instituting  a  spy 
system.  We  had  set  ourselves  the  task  of 
building  up  as  rapidly  and  as  broadly  as  possible 
the  volume  of  consumption.  Let  me  try  to 
explain  just  what  happened. 

To  get  the  advantage  of  the  facilities  we  had 
in  manufacture,  we  sought  the  utmost  market 
in  all  lands  —  we  needed  volume.  To  do  this 
we  had  to  create  selling  methods  far  in  advance 
of  what  then  existed;  we  had  to  dispose  of  two, 
or  three,  or  four  gallons  of  oil  where  one  had 
been  sold  before,  and  we  could  not  rely  upon 
the  usual  trade  channels  then  existing  to  accom- 
plish this.  It  was  never  our  purpose  to  inter- 
fere with  a  dealer  who  adequately  cultivated 
his  field  of  operations,  but  when  we  saw  a 
new  opportunity  or  a  new  place  for  extending 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  59 


the  sale  by  further  and  effective  facilities,  we 
made  it  our  business  to  provide  them.  In  this 
way  we  opened  many  new  lines  in  which 
others  have  shared.  In  this  development  we 
had  to  employ  many  comparatively  new  men. 
The  ideal  way  to  supply  material  for  higher 
positions  is,  of  course,  to  recruit  the  men  from 
among  the  youngest  in  the  company's  service, 
but  our  expansion  was  too  rapid  to  permit  this 
in  all  cases.  That  some  of  these  employees  were 
over-zealous  in  going  after  sales  it  would  not  be 
surprising  to  learn,  but  they  were  acting  in 
violation  of  the  expressed  and  known  wishes  of 
the  company.  But  even  these  instances,  I  am 
convinced,  occurred  so  seldom,  by  comparison 
with  the  number  of  transactions  we  carried  on, 
that  they  were  really  the  exceptions  that  proved 
the  rule. 

Every  week  in  the  year  for  many,  many 
years,  this  concern  has  brought  into  this  country 
more  than  a  million  dollars  gold,  all  from  the 
products  produced  by  American  labour.  I  am 
proud  of  the  record,  and  believe  most  Americans 
will  be  when  they  understand  some  things  better. 
These  achievements,  the  development  of  this 
great  foreign  trade,  the  owning  of  ships  to  carry 
the  oil  in  bulk  by  the  most  economical  methods, 
the  sending  out  of  men  to  fight  for  the  world's 


60        RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


markets,  have  cost  huge  sums  of  money,  and  the 
vast  capital  employed  could  not  be  raised  nor 
controlled  except  by  such  an  organization  as  the 
Standard  is  to-day. 

To  give  a  true  picture  of  the  early  conditions, 
one  must  realize  that  the  oil  industry  was  con- 
sidered a  most  hazardous  undertaking,  not 
altogether  unlike  the  speculative  mining  under- 
takings we  hear  so  much  of  to-day.  I  well 
remember  my  old  and  distinguished  friend, 
Rev.  Thomas  W.  Armitage,  for  some  forty  years 
pastor  of  a  great  New  York  church,  warning 
me  that  it  was  worse  than  folly  to  extend  our 
plants  and  our  operations.  He  was  sure  we 
were  running  unwarranted  risks,  that  our  oil 
supply  would  probably  fail,  the  demand 
would  decline,  and  he,  with  many  others, 
sometimes  I  thought  almost  everybody,  prophe- 
sied ruin. 

None  of  us  ever  dreamed  of  the  magnitude 
of  what  proved  to  be  the  later  expansion.  We 
did  our  day's  work  as  we  met  it,  looking  for- 
ward to  what  we  could  see  in  the  distance  and 
keeping  well  up  to  our  opportunities,  but 
laying  our  foundations  firmly.  As  I  have  said, 
capital  was  most  difficult  to  secure,  and  it  was 
not  easy  to  interest  conservative  men  in  this 
adventurous  business.    Men  of  property  were 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  61 


afraid  of  it,  though  in  rare  cases  capitalists 
were  induced  to  unite  with  us  to  a  limited 
extent.  If  they  bought  our  stock  at  all,  they 
took  a  little  of  it  now  and  then  as  an  experiment, 
and  we  were  painfully  conscious  that  they  often 
declined  to  buy  new  stock  with  many  beautiful 
expressions  of  appreciation. 

The  enterprise  being  so  new  and  novel, 
on  account  of  the  fearfulness  of  certain  hold- 
ers in  reference  to  its  success,  we  frequently 
had  to  take  stock  to  keep  it  from  going  beg- 
ging, but  we  had  such  confidence  in  the  fun- 
damental value  of  the  concern  that  we  were 
willing  to  assume  this  risk.  There  are  always 
a  few  men  in  an  undertaking  of  this  kind 
who  would  risk  all  on  their  judgment  of  the 
final  result,  and  if  the  enterprise  had  failed, 
these  would  have  been  classed  as  visionary 
adventurers,  and  perhaps  with  good  reason. 

The  60,000  men  who  are  at  work  constantly 
in  the  service  of  the  company  are  kept  busy  year 
in  and  year  out.  The  past  year  has  been  a 
time  of  great  contraction,  but  the  Standard  has 
gone  on  with  its  plans  unchecked,  and  the 
new  works  and  buildings  have  not  been  delayed 
on  account  of  lack  of  capital  or  fear  of  bad  times. 
It  pays  its  workmen  well,  it  cares  for  them  when 
sick,  and  pensions  them  when  old.    It  has  never 


62       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


had  any  important  strikes,  and  if  there  is  any 
better  function  of  business  management  than 
giving  profitable  work  to  employees  year  after 
year,  in  good  times  and  bad,  I  don't  know  what 
it  is. 

Another  thing  to  be  remembered  about  this 
so-called  "octopus"  is  that  there  has  been  no 
"water"  introduced  into  its  capital  (perhaps 
we  felt  that  oil  and  water  would  not  have 
mixed) ;  nor  in  all  these  years  has  any  one  had 
to  wait  for  money  which  the  Standard  owed. 
It  has  suffered  from  great  fires  and  losses,  but 
it  has  taken  care  of  its  affairs  in  such  a  way 
that  it  has  not  found  it  necessary  to  appeal  to 
the  general  public  to  place  blocks  of  bonds  or 
stock;  it  has  used  no  underwriting  syndicates 
or  stock-selling  schemes  in  any  form,  and  it  has 
always  managed  to  finance  new  oil  field  opera- 
tions when  called  upon. 

It  is  a  common  thing  to  hear  people  say  that 
this  company  has  crushed  out  its  competitors. 
Only  the  uninformed  could  make  such  an 
assertion.  It  has  and  always  has  had,  and 
always  will  have,  hundreds  of  active  competi- 
tors; it  has  lived  only  because  it  has  managed 
its  affairs  well  and  economically  and  with  great 
vigour.  To  speak  of  competition  for  a  minute: 
Consider  not  only  the  able  people  who  compete 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  63 


in  refining  oil,  but  all  the  competition  in  the 
various  trades  which  make  and  sell  by-products 
—  a  great  variety  of  different  businesses.  And 
perhaps  of  even  more  importance  is  the  competi- 
tion in  foreign  lands.  The  Standard  is  always 
fighting  to  sell  the  American  product  against  the 
oil  produced  from  the  great  fields  of  Russia, 
which  struggles  for  the  trade  of  Europe,  and  the 
Burma  oil,  which  largely  affects  the  market  in 
India.  In  all  these  various  countries  we  are 
met  with  tariffs  which  are  raised  against  us, 
local  prejudices,  and  strange  customs.  In  many 
countries  we  had  to  teach  the  people  —  the 
Chinese,  for  example  —  to  burn  oil  by  making 
lamps  for  them ;  we  packed  the  oil  to  be  carried 
by  camels  or  on  the  backs  of  runners  in  the 
most  remote  portions  of  the  world;  we  adapted 
the  trade  to  the  needs  of  strange  folk.  Every 
time  we  succeeded  in  a  foreign  land,  it  meant 
dollars  brought  to  this  country,  and  every  time 
we  failed,  it  was  a  loss  to  our  nation  and  its 
workmen. 

One  of  our  greatest  helpers  has  been  the 
State  Department  in  Washington.  Our  ambas- 
sadors and  ministers  and  consuls  have  aided  to 
push  our  way  into  new  markets  to  the  utmost 
corners  of  the  world. 

I  think  I  can  speak  thus  frankly  and  enthusi- 


64       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


astically  because  the  working  out  of  many 
of  these  great  plans  has  developed  largely 
since  I  retired  from  the  business  fourteen 
years  ago. 

The  Standard  has  not  now,  and  never  did  have 
a  royal  road  to  supremacy,  nor  is  its  success  due 
to  any  one  man,  but  to  the  multitude  of  able  men 
who  are  working  together.  If  the  present 
managers  of  the  company  were  to  relax 
efforts,  allow  the  quality  of  their  product  to 
degenerate,  or  treat  their  customers  badly,  how 
long  would  their  business  last  ?  About  as  long 
as  any  other  neglected  business.  To  read  some 
of  the  accounts  of  the  affairs  of  the  company, 
one  would  think  that  it  had  such  a  hold  on  the  oil 
trade  that  the  directors  did  little  but  come 
together  and  declare  dividends.  It  is  a  pleasure 
for  me  to  take  this  opportunity  to  pay  tribute 
to  the  work  these  men  are  doing,  not  only  for 
the  company  they  serve,  but  for  the  foreign 
trade  of  our  country ;  for  more  than  half  of  all  the 
product  that  the  company  makes  is  sold  outside 
of  the  United  States.  If,  in  place  of  these 
directors,  the  business  were  taken  over  and 
run  by  anyone  but  experts,  I  would  sell  my 
interest  for  any  price  I  could  get.  To  succeed 
in  a  business  requires  the  best  and  most 
earnest  men  to  manage  it,  and  the  best  men 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  65 


rise  to  the  top.  Of  its  origin  and  early  plans 
I  will  speak  later. 

THE  MODERN  CORPORATION 

Beyond  question  there  is  a  suspicion  of 
corporations.  There  may  be  reason  for  such 
suspicion  very  often;  for  a  corporation  may 
be  moral  or  immoral,  just  as  a  man  may  be 
moral  or  the  reverse;  but  it  is  folly  to  condemn 
all  corporations  because  some  are  bad,  or  even 
to  be  unduly  suspicious  of  all,  because  some 
are  bad.  But  the  corporation  in  form  and 
character  has  come  to  stay  —  that  is  a  thing 
that  may  be  depended  upon.  Even  small 
firms  are  becoming  corporations,  because  it  is 
a  convenient  form  of  partnership. 

It  is  equally  true  that  combinations  of  capital 
are  bound  to  continue  and  to  grow,  and  this 
need  not  alarm  even  the  most  timid  if  the 
corporation,  or  the  series  of  corporations,  is 
properly  conducted  with  due  regard  for  the 
rights  of  others.  The  day  of  individual  com- 
petition in  large  affairs  is  past  and  gone  —  you 
might  just  as  well  argue  that  we  should  go 
back  to  hand  labour  and  throw  away  our 
efficient  machines  —  and  the  sober  good  sense 
of  the  people  will  accept  this  fact  when  they 
have  studied  and  tried  it  out.    Just  see  how 


66        RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


the  list  of  stockholders  in  the  great  corporations 
is  increasing  by  leaps  and  bounds.  This  means 
that  all  these  people  are  becoming  partners  in 
great  businesses.  It  is  a  good  thing  —  it  will 
bring  a  feeling  of  increased  responsibility  to  the 
managers  of  the  corporations  and  will  make 
the  people  who  have  their  interests  involved 
study  the  facts  impartially  before  condemning 
or  attacking  them. 

On  this  subject  of  industrial  combinations 
I  have  often  expressed  my  opinions;  and,  as 
I  have  not  changed  my  mind,  I  am  not  averse 
to  repeating  them  now,  especially  as  the  subject 
seems  again  to  be  so  much  in  the  public  eye. 

The  chief  advantages  from  industrial  com- 
binations are  those  which  can  be  derived  from 
a  cooperation  of  persons  and  aggregation  of 
capital.  Much  that  one  man  cannot  do  alone 
two  can  do  together,  and  once  admit  the  fact 
that  cooperation,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
combination,  is  necessary  on  a  small  scale, 
the  limit  depends  solely  upon  the  necessities 
of  business.  Two  persons  in  partnership  may 
be  a  sufficiently  large  combination  for  a  small 
business,  but  if  the  business  grows  or  can  be 
made  to  grow,  more  persons  and  more  capital 
must  be  taken  in.  The  business  may  grow 
so  large  that  a  partnership  ceases  to  be  a  proper 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  67 


instrumentality  for  its  purposes,  and  then  a 
corporation  becomes  a  necessity.  In  most 
countries,  as  in  England,  this  form  of  industrial 
combination  is  sufficient  for  a  business  co-exten- 
sive with  the  parent  country,  but  it  is  not  so  in 
America.  Our  Federal  form  of  government 
making  every  corporation  created  by  a  state 
foreign  to  every  other  state,  renders  it  necessary 
for  persons  doing  business  through  corporate 
agency  to  organize  corporations  in  some  or  many 
of  the  different  states  in  which  their  business  is 
located.  Instead  of  doing  business  through  the 
agency  of  one  corporation  they  must  do  business 
through  the  agencies  of  several  corporations. 
If  the  business  is  extended  to  foreign  countries, 
and  Americans  are  not  to-day  satisfied  with 
home  markets  alone,  it  will  be  found  helpful 
and  possibly  necessary  to  organize  corpora- 
tions in  such  countries,  for  Europeans  are 
prejudiced  against  foreign  corporations,  as  are 
the  people  of  many  of  our  states.  These 
different  corporations  thus  become  cooperat- 
ing agencies  in  the  same  business  and  are 
held  together  by  common  ownership  of  their 
stocks. 

It  is  too  late  to  argue  about  advantages  of 
industrial  combinations.  They  are  a  necessity. 
And  if  Americans  are  to  have  the  privilege 


68        RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


of  extending  their  business  in  all  the  states  of 
the  Union,  and  into  foreign  countries  as  well, 
they  are  a  necessity  on  a  large  scale,  and  require 
the  agency  of  more  than  one  corporation. 

The  dangers  are  that  the  power  conferred 
by  combination  may  be  abused,  that  com- 
binations may  be  formed  for  speculation  in 
stocks  rather  than  for  conducting  business, 
and  that  for  this  purpose  prices  may  be  tem- 
porarily raised  instead  of  being  lowered.  These 
abuses  are  possible  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in 
all  combinations,  large  or  small,  but  this  fact 
is  no  more  of  an  argument  against  combinations 
than  the  fact  that  steam  may  explode  is  an 
argument  against  steam.  Steam  is  necessary 
and  can  be  made  comparatively  safe.  Com- 
bination is  necessary  and  its  abuses  can  be 
minimized;  otherwise  our  legislators  must 
acknowledge  their  incapacity  to  deal  with  the 
most  important  instrument  of  industry. 

In  the  hearing  of  the  Industrial  Commission 
in  1899,  I  then  said  that  if  I  were  to  suggest 
any  legislation  regarding  industrial  combina- 
tions it  would  be:  First,  Federal  legislation 
under  which  corporations  may  be  created  and 
regulated,  if  that  be  possible.  Second,  in  lieu 
thereof,  state  legislation  as  nearly  uniform  as 
possible,  encouraging  combinations  of  persons 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  69 


and  capital  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on 
industries,  but  permitting  state  supervision, 
not  of  a  character  to  hamper  industries,  but 
sufficient  to  prevent  frauds  upon  the  public. 
I  still  feel  as  I  did  in  1899. 

THE  NEW  OPPORTUNITIES 

I  am  far  from  believing  that  this  will  adversely 
affect  the  individual.  The  great  economic  era 
we  are  entering  will  give  splendid  opportunity 
to  the  young  man  of  the  future.  One  often 
hears  the  men  of  this  new  generation  say  that 
they  do  not  have  the  chances  that  their  fathers 
and  grandfathers  had.  How  little  they  know 
of  the  disadvantages  from  which  we  suffered! 
In  my  young  manhood  we  had  everything  to 
do  and  nothing  to  do  it  with;  we  had  to  hew 
our  own  paths  along  new  lines;  we  had  little 
experience  to  go  on.  Capital  was  most  dif- 
ficult to  get,  credits  were  mysterious  things. 
Whereas  now  we  have  a  system  of  commercial 
ratings,  everything  was  then  haphazard  and 
we  suffered  from  a  stupendous  war  and  all 
the  disasters  which  followed. 

Compare  this  day  with  that.  Our  comforts 
and  opportunities  are  multiplied  a  thousand 
fold.  The  resources  of  our  great  land  are 
now  actually  opening  up   and  are  scarcely 


70       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


touched;  our  home  markets  are  vast,  and  we 
have  just  begun  to  think  of  the  foreign  peoples 
we  can  serve  —  the  people  who  are  years  behind 
us  in  civilization.  In  the  East  a  quarter  of  the 
human  race  is  just  awakening.  The  men  of 
this  generation  are  entering  into  a  heritage  which 
makes  their  fathers'  lives  look  poverty-stricken 
by  comparison.  I  am  naturally  an  optimist, 
and  when  it  comes  to  a  statement  of  what  our 
people  will  accomplish  in  the  future,  I  am  unable 
to  express  myself  with  sufficient  enthusiasm. 

There  are  many  things  we  must  do  to  attain 
the  highest  benefit  from  all  these  great  bless- 
ings; and  not  the  least  of  these  is  to  build  up 
our  reputation  throughout  the  whole  world. 

The  great  business  interests  will,  I  hope,  so 
comport  themselves  that  foreign  capital  will 
consider  it  a  desirable  thing  to  hold  shares  in 
American  companies.  It  is  for  Americans  to 
see  that  foreign  investors  are  well  and  hon- 
estly treated,  so  that  they  will  never  regret  pur- 
chases of  our  securities. 

I  may  speak  thus  frankly,  because  I  am 
an  investor  in  many  American  enterprises,  but 
a  controller  of  none  (with  one  exception,  and 
that  a  company  which  has  not  been  much  of 
a  dividend  payer),  and  I,  like  all  the  rest,  am 
dependent  upon  the  honest  and  capable  adminis- 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  71 


tration  of  the  industries.  I  firmly  and  sincerely 
believe  that  they  will  be  so  managed. 

THE  AMERICAN  BUSINESS  MAN 

You  hear  a  good  many  people  of  pessimistic 
disposition  say  much  about  greed  in  American 
life.  One  would  think  to  hear  them  talk  that 
we  were  a  race  of  misers  in  this  country.  To 
lay  too  much  stress  upon  the  reports  of  greed 
in  the  newspapers  would  be  folly,  since  their 
function  is  to  report  the  unusual  and  even  the 
abnormal.  When  a  man  goes  properly  about 
his  daily  affairs,  the  public  prints  say  nothing; 
it  is  only  when  something  extraordinary  happens 
to  him  that  he  is  discussed.  But  because  he  is 
thus  brought  into  prominence  occasionally,  you 
surely  would  not  say  that  these  occasions  repre- 
sented his  normal  life.  It  is  by  no  means  for 
money  alone  that  these  active-minded  men 
labour  —  they  are  engaged  in  a  fascinating 
occupation.  The  zest  of  the  work  is  maintained 
by  something  better  than  the  mere  accumulation 
of  money,  and,  as  I  think  I  have  said  elsewhere, 
the  standards  of  business  are  high  and  are 
getting  better  all  the  time. 

I  confess  I  have  no  sympathy  with  the  idea 
so  often  advanced  that  our  basis  of  all  judg- 
ments in  this  country  is  founded  on  money. 


72       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


If  this  were  true,  we  should  be  a  nation  of 
money  hoarders  instead  of  spenders.  Nor  do 
I  admit  that  we  are  so  small-minded  a  people 
as  to  be  jealous  of  the  success  of  others.  It  is 
the  other  way  about:  we  are  the  most  extra- 
ordinarily ambitious,  and  the  success  of  one 
man  in  any  walk  of  life  spurs  the  others  on. 
It  does  not  sour  them,  and  it  is  a  libel  even  to 
suggest  so  great  a  meanness  of  spirit. 

In  reading  the  newspapers,  where  so  much 
is  taken  for  granted  in  considering  things  on  a 
money  standard,  I  think  we  need  some  of 
the  sense  of  humour  possessed  by  an  Irish 
neighbour  of  mine,  who  built  what  we  regarded 
as  an  extremely  ugly  house,  which  stood  out 
in  bright  colours  as  we  looked  from  our  win- 
dows. My  taste  in  architecture  differed  so 
widely  from  that  affected  by  my  Irish  friend, 
that  we  planted  out  the  view  of  his  house 
by  moving  some  large  trees  to  the  end  of  our 
property.  Another  neighbour  who  watched  this 
work  going  on  asked  Mr.  Foley  why  Mr. 
Rockefeller  moved  all  these  big  trees  and  cut  off 
the  view  between  the  houses.  Foley,  with  the 
quick  wit  of  his  country,  responded  instantly: 
"It's  invy,  they  can't  stand  looking  at  the 
ividence  of  me  prosperity." 

In  my  early  days  men  acted  just  as  they 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  73 


do  now,  no  doubt.  When  there  was  anything 
to  be  done  for  general  trade  betterment,  almost 
every  man  had  some  good  reason  for  believing 
that  his  case  was  a  special  one  different  from 
all  the  rest.  For  every  foolish  thing  he  did, 
or  wanted  to  do,  for  every  unbusinesslike  plan 
he  had,  he  always  pleaded  that  it  was  necessary 
in  his  case.  He  was  the  one  man  who  had  to 
sell  at  less  than  cost,  to  disrupt  all  the  business 
plans  of  others  in  his  trade,  because  his  indi- 
vidual position  was  so  absolutely  different  from 
all  the  rest.  It  was  often  a  heart-breaking 
undertaking  to  convince  those  men  that  the 
perfect  occasion  which  would  lead  to  the  perfect 
opportunity  would  never  come,  even  if  they 
waited  until  the  crack  o'  doom. 

Then,  again,  we  had  the  type  of  man  who 
really  never  knew  all  the  facts  about  his  own 
affairs.  Many  of  the  brighest  kept  their  books 
in  such  a  way  that  they  did  not  actually  know 
when  they  were  making  money  on  a  certain 
operation  and  when  they  were  losing.  This 
unintelligent  competition  was  a  hard  matter 
to  contend  with.  Good  old-fashioned  common 
sense  has  always  been  a  mighty  rare  commodity. 
When  a  man's  affairs  are  not  going  well,  he  hates 
to  study  the  books  and  face  the  truth.  From 
the  first,  the  men  who  managed  the  Standard  Oil 


74       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


Company  kept  their  books  intelligently  as  well 
as  correctly.  We  knew  how  much  we  made  and 
where  we  gained  or  lost.  At  least,  we  tried  not  to 
deceive  ourselves. 

My  ideas  of  business  are  no  doubt  old- 
fashioned,  but  the  fundamental  principles  do 
not  change  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
sometimes  I  think  that  our  quick-witted  Ameri- 
can business  men,  whose  spirit  and  energy  are 
so  splendid,  do  not  always  sufficiently  study 
the  real  underlying  foundations  of  business 
management.  I  have  spoken  of  the  necessity 
of  being  frank  and  honest  with  oneself  about 
one's  own  affairs:  many  people  assume  that 
they  can  get  away  from  the  truth  by  avoiding 
thinking  about  it,  but  the  natural  law  is  inevit- 
able, and  the  sooner  it  is  recognized,  the  better. 

One  hears  a  great  deal  about  wages  and  why 
they  must  be  maintained  at  a  high  level,  by 
the  railroads,  for  example.  A  labourer  is 
worthy  of  his  hire,  no  less,  but  no  more,  and  in 
the  long  run  he  must  contribute  an  equivalent 
for  what  he  is  paid  If  he  does  not  do  this,  he 
is  probably  pauperized,  and  you  at  once  throw 
out  the  balance  of  things.  You  can't  hold  up 
conditions  artificially,  and  you  can't  change 
the  underlying  laws  of  trade.  If  you  try,  you 
must  inevitably  fail.    All  this  may  be  trite  and 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  75 


obvious,  but  it  is  remarkable  how  many  men 
overlook  what  should  be  the  obvious.  These 
are  facts  we  can't  get  away  from  —  a  business 
man  must  adapt  himself  to  the  natural  conditions 
as  they  exist  from  month  to  month  and  year  to 
year.  Sometimes  I  feel  that  we  Americans 
think  we  can  find  a  short  road  to  success, 
and  it  may  appear  that  often  this  feat  is  accom- 
plished ;  but  real  efficiency  in  work  comes  from 
knowing  your  facts  and  building  upon  that  sure 
foundation. 

Many  men  of  wealth  do  not  retire  from  busi- 
ness even  when  they  can.  They  are  not  willing 
to  be  idle,  or  they  have  a  just  pride  in  their 
work  and  want  to  perfect  the  plans  in  which 
they  have  faith,  or,  what  is  of  still  more  con- 
sequence, they  may  feel  the  call  to  expand  and 
build  up  for  the  benefit  of  their  employees  and 
associates,  and  these  men  are  the  great  builders 
up  in  our  country.  Consider  for  a  moment 
how  much  would  have  been  left  undone  if  our 
prosperous  American  business  men  had  sat 
down  with  folded  hands  when  they  had  acquired 
a  competency.  I  have  respect  for  all  these 
reasons,  but  if  a  man  has  succeeded,  he  has 
brought  upon  himself  corresponding  responsi- 
bilities, and  our  institutions  devoted  to  helping 
men  to  help  themselves  need  the  brain  of  the 


76       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


American  business  man  as  well  as  part  of  his 
money. 

Some  of  these  men,  however,  are  so  absorbed 
in  their  business  affairs  that  they  hardly  have 
time  to  think  of  anything  else.  If  they  do 
interest  themselves  in  a  work  outside  of  their 
own  office  and  undertake  to  raise  money,  they 
begin  with  an  apology,  as  if  they  are  ashamed 
of  themselves. 

"I  am  no  beggar,"  I  have  heard  many  of 
them  say,  to  which  I  could  only  reply:  "I  am 
sorry  you  feel  that  way  about  it." 

I  have  been  this  sort  of  beggar  all  my  life 
and  the  experiences  I  have  had  were  so  inter- 
esting and  important  to  me  that  I  will  venture 
to  speak  of  them  in  a  later  chapter. 


SOME   EXPERIENCES  IN  THE  OIL 
BUSINESS 


CHAPTER  IV 


Some  Experiences  in  the  Oil  Business 

DURING  the  years  when  I  was  just  com- 
ing to  man's  estate,  the  produce  business 
of  Clark  &  Rockefeller  went  on  prosperously, 
and  in  the  early  sixties  we  organized  a  firm  to 
refine  and  deal  in  oil.  It  was  composed  of 
Messrs.  James  and  Richard  Clark,  Mr.  Samuel 
Andrews,  and  the  firm  of  Clark  &  Rockefeller, 
who  were  the  company.  It  was  my  first  direct 
connection  with  the  oil  trade.  As  the  new  con- 
cern grew  the  firm  of  Clark  &  Rockefeller  was 
called  upon  to  supply  a  large  special  capital. 
Mr.  Samuel  Andrews  was  the  manufacturing 
man  of  the  concern,  and  he  had  learned  the 
process  of  cleansing  the  crude  oil  by  the  use 
of  sulphuric  acid. 

In  1865  the  partnership  was  dissolved;  it  was 
decided  that  the  cash  assets  should  be  collected 
and  the  debts  paid,  but  this  left  the  plant  and 
the  good-will  to  be  disposed  of.  It  was  suggested 
that  they  should  go  to  the  highest  bidder  among 
ourselves.    This  seemed  a  just  settlement  to 

79 


80       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


me,  and  the  question  came  up  as  to  when  the 
sale  should  be  held  and  who  would  conduct  it. 
My  partners  had  a  lawyer  in  the  room  to 
represent  them,  though  I  had  not  considered 
having  a  legal  representative;  I  thought  I  could 
take  care  of  so  simple  a  transaction.  The 
lawyer  acted  as  the  auctioneer,  and  it  was  sug- 
gested that  we  should  go  on  with  the  sale  then 
and  there.  All  agreed,  and  so  the  auction 
began. 

I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  I  wanted  to 
go  into  the  oil  trade,  not  as  a  special  partner, 
but  actively  on  a  larger  scale,  and  with  Mr. 
Andrews  wished  to  buy  that  business.  I  thought 
that  I  saw  great  opportunities  in  refining  oil, 
and  did  not  realize  at  that  time  that  the  whole 
oil  industry  would  soon  be  swamped  by  so  many 
men  rushing  into  it.  But  I  was  full  of  hope, 
and  I  had  already  arranged  to  get  financial 
accommodation  to  an  amount  that  I  supposed 
would  easily  pay  for  the  plant  and  good-will.  I 
was  willing  to  give  up  the  other  firm  of  Clark 
&  Rockefeller,  and  readily  settled  that  later  — 
my  old  partner,  Mr.  Clark,  taking  over  the 
business. 

The  bidding  began,  I  think,  at  $500  premium. 
I  bid  a  thousand;  they  bid  two  thousand;  and 
so  on,  little  by  little,  the  price  went  up.  Neither 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  81 


side  was  willing  to  stop  bidding,  and  the  amount 
gradually  rose  until  it  reached  $50,000,  which 
was  much  more  than  we  supposed  the  con- 
cern to  be  worth.  Finally,  it  advanced  to 
$60,000,  and  by  slow  stages  to  $70,000,  and 
I  almost  feared  for  my  ability  to  buy  the  business 
and  have  the  money  to  pay  for  it.  At  last 
the  other  side  bid  $72,000.  Without  hesita- 
tion I  said  $72,500.  Mr.  Clark  then  said: 
"I'll  go  no  higher,  John;  the  business  is 
yours." 

"Shall  I  give  you  a  check  for  it  now?5'  I 
suggested. 

"No,"  Mr  Clark  said,  "I'm  glad  to  trust 
you  for  it;  settle  at  your  convenience." 

The  firm  of  Rockefeller  &  Andrews  was  then 
established,  and  this  was  really  my  start  in 
the  oil  trade.  It  was  my  most  important  busi- 
ness for  about  forty  years  until,  at  the  age  of 
about  fifty-six,  I  retired. 

The  story  of  the  early  history  of  the  oil  trade 
is  too  well  known  to  bear  repeating  in  detail. 
The  cleansing  of  crude  petroleum  was  a  simple 
and  easy  process,  and  at  first  the  profits  were 
very  large.  Naturally,  all  sorts  of  people  went 
into  it:  the  butcher,  the  baker,  and  the 
candlestick-maker  began  to  refine  oil,  and  it 
was  only  a  short  time  before  more  of  the 


82       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


finished  product  was  put  on  the  market  than 
could  possibly  be  consumed.  The  price  went 
down  and  down  until  the  trade  was  threatened 
with  ruin.  It  seemed  absolutely  necessary  to 
extend  the  market  for  oil  by  exporting  to  for- 
eign countries,  which  required  a  long  and  most 
difficult  development;  and  also  to  greatly 
improve  the  processes  of  refining  so  that  oil 
could  be  made  and  sold  cheaply,  yet  with  a 
profit,  and  to  use  as  by-products  all  of  the 
materials  which  in  the  less-efficient  plants  were 
lost  or  thrown  away. 

These  were  the  problems  which  confronted 
us  almost  at  the  outset,  and  this  great  depres- 
sion led  to  consultations  with  our  neighbors 
and  friends  in  the  business  in  the  effort  to  bring 
some  order  out  of  what  was  rapidly  becoming 
a  state  of  chaos.  To  accomplish  all  these 
tasks  of  enlarging  the  market  and  improving 
the  methods  of  manufacture  in  a  large  way 
was  beyond  the  power  or  ability  of  any  con- 
cern as  then  constituted.  It  could  only  be 
done,  we  reasoned,  by  increasing  our  capital 
and  availing  ourselves  of  the  best  talent  and 
experience. 

It  was  with  this  idea  that  we  proceeded  to 
buy  the  largest  and  best  refining  concerns 
and   centralize  the   administration  of  them 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  83 


with  a  view  to  securing  greater  economy  and 
efficiency.  The  business  grew  faster  than  we 
had  anticipated. 

This  enterprise,  conducted  by  men  of  appli- 
cation and  ability  working  hard  together,  soon 
built  up  unusual  facilities  in  manufacture,  in 
transportation,  in  finance,  and  in  extending 
markets.  We  had  our  troubles  and  set-backs; 
we  suffered  from  some  severe  fires ;  and  the 
supply  of  crude  oil  was  most  uncertain.  Our 
plans  were  constantly  changed  by  changed 
conditions.  We  developed  great  facilities  in  an 
oil  centre,  erected  storage  tanks,  and  connected 
pipe-lines ;  then  the  oil  failed  and  our  work  was 
thrown  away.  At  best  it  was  a  speculative 
trade,  and  I  wonder  that  we  managed  to  pull 
through  so  often ;  but  we  were  gradually  learning 
how  to  conduct  a  most  difficult  business. 

FOREIGN  MARKETS 

Several  years  ago,  when  asked  how  our 
business  grew  to  such  large  proportions  I 
explained  that  our  first  organization  was  a  part- 
nership and  afterward  a  corporation  in  Ohio. 
That  was  sufficient  for  a  local  refining  business. 
But,  had  we  been  dependent  solely  upon  local 
business,  we  should  have  failed  long  since. 
We  were  forced  to  extend  our  markets  into 


84       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


every  part  of  the  world.  This  made  the  sea- 
board cities  a  necessary  place  of  business,  and 
we  soon  discovered  that  manufacturing  for 
export  could  be  more  economically  carried 
on  there;  hence  refineries  were  established  at 
Brooklyn,  at  Bayonne,  at  Philadelphia,  at  Bal- 
timore, and  necessary  corporations  were  organ- 
ized in  the  different  states. 

We  soon  discovered,  as  the  business  grew, 
that  the  primary  method  of  transporting  oil  in 
barrels  could  not  last.  The  package  often 
cost  more  than  the  contents,  and  the  forests 
of  the  country  were  not  sufficient  to  supply 
cheaply  the  necessary  material  for  an  extended 
time.  Hence  we  devoted  attention  to  other 
methods  of  transportation,  adopted  the  pipe- 
line system,  and  found  capital  for  pipe-line 
construction  equal  to  the  necessities  of  the 
business. 

To  operate  pipe-lines  required  franchises 
from  the  states  in  which  they  were  located  — 
and  consequently  corporations  in  those  states 
—  just  as  railroads  running  through  different 
states  are  forced  to  operate  under  separate 
state  charters.  To  perfect  the  pipe-line  system 
of  transportation  required  many  millions  of 
capital.  The  entire  oil  business  is  dependent 
upon   the   pipe-line.    Without   it   every  well 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  85 


would  be  less  valuable  and  every  market  at 
home  and  abroad  would  be  more  difficult  to 
serve  or  retain,  because  of  the  additional  cost 
to  the  consumer.  The  expansion  of  the  whole 
industry  would  have  been  retarded  without 
this  method  of  transportation. 

Then  the  pipe-line  system  required  other 
improvements,  such  as  tank-cars  upon  rail- 
roads, and  finally  the  tank-steamer.  Capital 
had  to  be  furnished  for  them  and  corporations 
created  to  own  and  operate  them. 

Every  one  of  the  steps  taken  was  necessary 
if  the  business  was  to  be  properly  developed, 
and  only  through  such  successive  steps  and 
by  a  great  aggregation  of  capital  is  America  to- 
day enabled  to  utilize  the  bounty  which  its  land 
pours  forth,  and  to  furnish  the  world  with  light. 

THE  START  OF  THE  STANDARD  OIL  COMPANY 

In  the  year  1867  the  firms  of  William  Rocke- 
feller &  Co.,  Rockefeller  &  Andrews,  Rocke- 
feller &  Co.,  and  S.  V.  Harkness  and  H.  M. 
Flagler  united  in  forming  the  firm  of  Rocke- 
feller, Andrews  &  Flagler. 

The  cause  leading  to  the  formation  of  this 
firm  was  the  desire  to  unite  our  skill  and  capital 
in  order  to  carry  on  a  business  of  greater  mag- 
nitude with  economy  and  efficiency  in  place  of 


86       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


the  smaller  business  that  each  had  heretofore 
conducted  separately.  As  time  went  on  and 
the  possibilities  became  apparent,  we  found  fur- 
ther capital  to  be  necessary;  then  we  interested 
others  and  organized  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany, with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000.  Later  we 
saw  that  more  money  could  be  utilized,  found 
persons  who  were  willing  to  invest  with  us,  and 
increased  our  capital  to  $2,500,000,  in  1872,  and 
afterward  in  1874  to  $3,500,000.  As  the  busi- 
ness grew,  and  markets  were  obtained  at  home 
and  abroad,  more  persons  and  capital  were 
added  to  the  business,  and  new  corporate 
agencies  were  obtained  or  organized,  the  object 
being  always  the  same  —  to  extend  our  opera- 
tions by  furnishing  the  best  and  cheapest 
products. 

I  ascribe  the  success  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Company  to  its  consistent  policy  of  making  the 
volume  of  its  business  large  through  the  merit 
and  cheapness  of  its  products.  It  has  spared 
no  expense  in  utilizing  the  best  and  most  effi- 
cient method  of  manufacture.  It  has  sought 
for  the  best  superintendents  and  workmen  and 
paid  the  best  wages.  It  has  not  hesitated  to 
sacrifice  old  machinery  and  old  plants  for  new 
and  better  ones.  It  has  placed  its  manufac- 
tories at  the  points  where  they  could  supply 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  87 


markets  at  the  least  expense.  It  has  not  only 
sought  markets  for  its  principal  products,  but 
for  all  possible  by-products,  sparing  no  expense 
in  introducing  them  to  the  public  in  every  nook 
and  corner  of  the  world.  It  has  not  hesitated 
to  invest  millions  of  dollars  in,  methods  for  cheap- 
ening the  gathering  and  distribution  of  oils  by 
pipe-lines,  special  cars,  tank-steamers,  and  tank- 
wagons.  It  has  erected  tank-stations  at  railroad 
centres  in  every  part  of  the  country  to  cheapen 
the  storage  and  delivery  of  oil.  It  has  had 
faith  in  American  oil  and  has  brought  together 
vast  sums  of  money  for  the  purpose  of  making 
it  what  it  is,  and  for  holding  its  market  against 
the  competition  of  Russia  and  all  the  countries 
which  are  producers  of  oil  and  competitors 
against  American  products. 

THE  INSURANCE  PLANS 

Here  is  an  example  of  one  of  the  ways  in 
which  we  achieved  certain  economies  and  gained 
real  advantage.  Fires  are  always  to  be  reckoned 
with  in  oil  refining  and  storage,  as  we  learned 
by  dear  experience,  but  in  having  our  plants 
distributed  all  over  the  country  the  unit  of  risk 
and  possible  loss  was  minimized.  No  one  fire 
could  ruin  us,  and  we  were  able  thus  to  establish 
a  system  of  insuring  ourselves.    Our  reserve 


88       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


fund  which  provided  for  this  insurance  could 
not  be  wiped  out  all  at  once,  as  might  be  the 
case  with  a  concern  having  its  plants  together  or 
near  each  other.  Then  we  studied  and  perfected 
our  organization  to  prevent  fires,  improving  our 
appliances  and  plans  year  after  year  until  the 
profit  on  this  insurance  feature  became  a  very 
considerable  item  in  the  Standard  earnings. 

It  can  easily  be  seen  that  this  saving  in 
insurance,  and  minimizing  the  loss  by  fire 
affected  the  profits,  not  only  in  refining,  but 
touched  many  other  associated  enterprises:  the 
manufacture  of  by-products,  the  tanks  and 
steamers,  the  pumping-stations,  etc. 

We  devoted  ourselves  exclusively  to  the  oil 
business  and  its  products.  The  company  never 
went  into  outside  ventures,  but  kept  to  the 
enormous  task  of  perfecting  its  own  organiza- 
tion. We  educated  our  own  men;  we  trained 
many  of  them  from  boyhood;  we  strove  to 
keep  them  loyal  by  providing  them  full  scope 
for  their  ability;  they  were  given  opportunities 
to  buy  stock,  and  the  company  itself  helped  them 
to  finance  their  purchases.  Not  only  here  in 
America,  but  all  over  the  world,  our  young 
men  were  given  chances  to  advance  themselves, 
and  the  sons  of  the  old  partners  were  welcomed 
to  the  councils  and  responsibilities  of  the  admin- 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  89 


istration.  I  may  say  that  the  company  has  been 
in  all  its  history,  and  I  am  sure  it  is  at  present, 
a  most  happy  association  of  busy  people. 

I  have  been  asked  if  my  advice  is  not  often 
sought  by  the  present  managers.  I  can  say  that 
if  it  were  sought  it  would  be  gladly  given.  But 
the  fact  is  that  since  I  retired  it  has  been  very 
little  required.  I  am  still  a  large  stockholder, 
indeed  I  have  increased  my  holdings  in  the 
company's  stock  since  I  relinquished  any  part 
in  its  management. 

WHY  THE  STANDARD  PAYS  LARGE  DIVIDENDS 

Let  me  explain  what  many  people,  perhaps, 
fully  appreciate,  but  some,  I  am  sure,  do  not. 
The  Standard  pays  four  dividends  a  year:  the 
first  in  March,  which  is  the  result  of  the  busiest 
season  of  the  whole  twelvemonth,  because 
more  oil  is  consumed  in  winter  than  at  other 
seasons,  and  three  other  dividends  later,  at 
about  evenly  divided  periods.  Now,  these 
dividends  run  up  to  40  per  cent,  on  the  capital 
stock  of  $100,000,000,  but  that  does  not  mean 
that  the  profit  is  40  per  cent,  on  the  capital 
invested.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  represents  the 
results  of  the  savings  and  surplus  gained  through 
all  the  thirty-five  or  forty  years  of  the  workings 
of  the  companies.    The  capital  stock  could  be 


90       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


raised  several  hundred  per  cent,  without  a  penny 
of  over-capitalization  or  "water55;  the  actual 
value  is  there.  If  this  increase  had  been  made, 
the  rate  would  represent  a  moderate  dividend- 
paying  power  of  about  6  to  8  per  cent. 

A  NORMAL  GROWTH 

Study  for  a  moment  the  result  of  what  has 
been  a  natural  and  absolutely  normal  increase 
in  the  value  of  the  company's  possessions. 
Many  of  the  pipe-lines  were  constructed  during 
a  period  when  costs  were  about  50  per  cent, 
of  what  they  are  now.  Great  fields  of  oil 
lands  were  purchased  as  virgin  soil,  which 
later  yielded  an  immense  output.  Quantities 
of  low-grade  crude  oil  which  had  been  bought 
by  the  company  when  it  was  believed  to  be 
of  little  value,  but  which  the  company  hoped 
eventually  to  utilize,  were  greatly  increased 
in  value  by  inventions  for  refining  it  and  for 
using  the  residues  formerly  considered  almost 
worthless.  Dock  property  was  secured  at  low 
prices  and  made  valuable  by  buildings  and 
development.  Large  unimproved  tracts  of  land 
near  the  important  business  centres  were 
acquired.  We  brought  our  industries  to  these 
places,  made  the  land  useful,  and  increased 
the  value,  not  only  of  our  own  property,  but  of 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  91 


the  land  adjacent  to  it  to  many  times  the  original 
worth.  Wherever  we  have  established  businesses 
in  this  and  other  countries  we  have  bought 
largely  of  property.  I  remember  a  case  where  we 
paid  only  $1,000  or  so  an  acre  for  some  rough 
land  to  be  used  for  such  purposes,  and,  through 
the  improvements  we  created,  the  value  has  gone 
up  40  or  50  times  as  much  in  35  or  40  years. 

Others  have  had  similar  increases  in  the 
value  of  their  properties,  but  have  enlarged 
their  capitalization  correspondingly.  They 
have  escaped  the  criticism  which  has  been 
directed  against  us,  who  with  our  old-fashioned 
and  conservative  notions  have  continued  with- 
out such  expansion  of  capitalization. 

There  is  nothing  strange  or  miraculous  in 
all  this;  it  was  all  done  through  this  natural 
law  of  trade  development.  It  is  what  the 
Astors  and  many  other  large  landholders  did. 

If  a  man  starts  in  business  with  $1,000  capital 
and  gradually  increases  his  property  and  invest- 
ment by  retaining  in  his  concern  much  of  his 
earnings,  instead  of  spending  them,  and  thus 
accumulates  values  until  his  investment  is, 
say,  $10,000,  it  would  be  folly  to  base  the  per- 
centage of  his  actual  profits  only  on  the  original 
$1,000  with  which  he  started.  Here,  again,  I 
think  the  managers  of  the  Standard  should  be 


92       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


praised,  and  not  blamed.  They  have  set  an 
example  for  upbuilding  on  the  most  conservative 
lines,  and  in  a  business  which  has  always  been, 
to  say  the  least,  hazardous,  and  to  a  large  degree 
unavoidably  speculative.  Yet  no  one  who  has 
relied  upon  the  ownership  of  this  stock  to  pay  a 
yearly  income  has  been  disappointed,  and  the 
stock  is  held  by  an  increasing  number  of  small 
holders  the  country  over. 

THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  CAPITAL 

We  never  attempted,  as  I  have  already  said, 
to  sell  the  Standard  Oil  stock  on  the  market 
through  the  Stock  Exchange.  In  the  early  days 
the  risks  of  the  business  were  great,  and  if  the 
stock  had  been  dealt  in  on  the  Exchange  its 
fluctuations  would  no  doubt  have  been  violent. 
We  preferred  to  have  the  attention  of  the  owners 
and  administrators  of  the  business  directed 
wholly  to  the  legitimate  development  of  the 
enterprise  rather  than  to  speculation  in  its 
shares.  The  interests  of  the  company  have 
been  carefully  conserved.  We  have  been  criti- 
cized for  paying  large  dividends  on  a  capitaliza- 
tion which  represents  but  a  small  part  of  the 
actual  property  owned  by  the  company.  If  we 
had  increased  the  capitalization  to  bring  it  up 
to  the  real  value,  and  listed  the  shares  on  the 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  93 


Exchange,  we  might  have  been  criticized  then 
for  promoting  a  project  to  induce  the  public 
to  invest.    As  I  have  indicated,  the  foundations 
of  the  company  were  so  thoroughly  established, 
and  its  affairs  so  conservatively  managed,  that, 
after  the  earlier  period  of  struggle  to  secure 
adequate  capital  and  in  view  of  the  trying 
experiences   through  which  we  then  passed, 
we  decided  to  pursue  the  policy  of  relying  upon 
our  own  resources.    Since  then  we  have  never 
been  obliged  to  lean  very  heavily  upon  the 
financial  public,   but  have  sought  rather  to 
hold  ourselves  in  position  not  only  to  protect 
our  own  large  and  important  interests,  but  to 
be  prepared  in  times  of  stress  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  to  others.    The  company  has  suffered 
from  the  statements  of  people  who,  I  am  con- 
vinced, are  not  familiar  with  all  the  facts.  As 
I  long  ago  ceased  to  have  any  active  part  in  the 
management  of  its  affairs  perhaps  I  may  venture 
the  opinion  that  men  who  devote  themselves  to 
building  up  the  sale  of  American  products  all  over 
the  world,  in  competition  with  foreign  manu- 
facturers should  be  appreciated  and  encouraged. 

There  have  been  so  many  tales  told  about  the 
so-called  speculations  of  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany that  I  may  say  a  word  about  that  subject. 
This  company  is  interested  only  in  oil  products 


94       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


and  such  manufacturing  affairs  as  are  legi- 
timately connected  therewith.  It  has  plants  for 
the  making  of  barrels  and  tanks;  and  building 
pumps  for  pumping  oil;  it  owns  vessels  for 
carrying  oil,  tank-cars,  pipes  for  transporting 
oil,  etc.,  etc.  —  but  it  is  not  concerned  in  specu- 
lative interests.  The  oil  business  itself  is 
speculative  enough,  and  its  successful  adminis- 
tration requires  a  firm  hand  and  a  cool  head. 

The  company  pays  dividends  to  its  stock- 
holders which  it  earns  in  carrying  on  this  oil 
trade.  This  money  the  stockholders  can  and 
do  use  as  they  think  fit,  but  the  company  is  in 
no  way  responsible  for  the  disposition  that  the 
stockholders  make  of  their  dividends.  The 
Standard  Oil  Company  does  not  own  or  con- 
trol "a  chain  of  banks/'  nor  has  it  any  interest 
directly  or  indirectly  in  any  bank.  Its  relations 
are  confined  to  the  functions  of  ordinary  bank- 
ing, such  as  other  depositors  have.  It  buys 
and  sells  its  own  exchange;  and  these  dealings, 
extending  over  many  years,  have  made  its 
bills  of  exchange  acceptable  all  over  the  world. 

CHARACTER  THE  ESSENTIAL  THING 

In  speaking  of  the  real  beginning  of  the 
Standard  Oil  Company,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  it  was  not  so  much  the  consolidation 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  95 


of  the  firms  in  which  we  had  a  personal  inter- 
est, but  the  coming  together  of  the  men  who 
had  the  combined  brain  power  to  do  the  work, 
which  was  the  actual  starting-point.  Perhaps 
it  is  worth  while  to  emphasize  again  the  fact  that 
it  is  not  merely  capital  and  "plants"  and  the 
strictly  material  things  which  make  up  a  business, 
but  the  character  of  the  men  behind  these 
things,  their  personalities,  and  their  abilities; 
these  are  the  essentials  to  be  reckoned  with. 

Late  in  1871,  we  began  the  purchase  of  some 
of  the  more  important  of  the  refinery  interests  of 
Cleveland.  The  conditions  were  so  chaotic 
and  uncertain  that  most  of  the  refiners  were  very 
desirous  to  get  out  of  the  business.  We  invari- 
ably offered  those  who  wanted  to  sell  the  option 
of  taking  cash  or  stock  in  the  company.  We 
very  much  preferred  to  have  them  take  the  stock, 
because  a  dollar  in  those  days  looked  as  large  as 
a  cart-wheel,  but  as  a  matter  of  business  policy 
we  found  it  desirable  to  offer  them  the  option, 
and  in  most  cases  they  were  even  precipitate 
in  their  choice  of  the  cash.  They  knew  what 
a  dollar  would  buy,  but  they  were  very  scepti- 
cal in  regard  to  the  possibilities  of  resurrecting 
the  oil  business  and  giving  any  permanent 
value  to  these  shares. 

These  purchases  continued  over  a  period 


96       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


of  years,  during  which  many  of  the  more 
important  refineries  at  Cleveland  were  bought 
by  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Some  of  the 
smaller  concerns,  however,  continued  in  the 
business  for  many  years,  although  they  had 
the  same  opportunity  as  others  to  sell.  There 
were  always,  at  other  refining  points  which 
were  regarded  as  more  favourably  located  than 
Cleveland,  many  refineries  in  successful 
operation. 

THE  BACKUS  PURCHASE 

All  these  purchases  of  refineries  were  con- 
ducted with  the  utmost  fairness  and  good  faith 
on  our  part,  yet  in  many  quarters  the  stories  of 
certain  of  these  transactions  have  been  told  in 
such  form  as  to  give  the  impression  that  the  sales 
were  made  most  unwillingly  and  only  because 
the  sellers  were  forced  to  make  them  by  the 
most  ruthless  exertion  of  superior  power.  There 
was  one  transaction,  viz.,  the  purchase  of  the 
property  of  the  Backus  Oil  Company,  which 
has  been  variously  exploited,  and  I  am  made 
to  appear  as  having  personally  robbed  a  defence- 
less widow  of  an  extremely  valuable  property, 
paying  her  therefor  only  a  mere  fraction  of 
its  worth.  The  story  as  told  is  one  which  makes 
the  strongest  appeal  to  the  sympathy  and,  if  it 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  97 


were  true,  would  represent  a  shocking  instance 
of  cruelty  in  crushing  a  defenceless  woman. 
It  is  probable  that  its  wide  circulation  and  its 
acceptance  as  true  by  those  who  know  nothing 
of  the  facts  has  awakened  more  hostility  against 
the  Standard  Oil  Company  and  against  me  per- 
sonally than  any  charge  which  has  been  made. 

This  is  my  reason  for  entering  so  much  into 
detail  in  this  particular  case,  which  I  am 
exceedingly  reluctant  to  do,  and  for  many  years 
have  refrained  from  doing. 

Mr.  F.  M.  Backus,  a  highly  respected  citizen 
of  Cleveland  and  an  old  and  personal  friend 
of  mine,  had  for  several  years  prior  to  his 
death  in  1874  been  engaged  in  the  lubricating 
oil  business  which  was  carried  on  after  his  death 
as  a  corporation  known  as  the  Backus  Oil 
Company.  In  the  latter  part  of  1878,  our 
company  purchased  certain  portions  of  the 
property  of  this  company.  The  negotiations 
which  led  to  this  purchase  extended  over 
several  weeks,  being  conducted  on  behalf  of 
Mrs.  Backus,  as  the  principal  stockholder,  by 
Mr.  Charles  H.  Marr,  and  on  behalf  of  our 
company  by  Mr.  Peter  S.  Jennings.  I  per- 
sonally had  nothing  to  do  with  the  negotiations 
except  that,  when  the  matter  first  came  up,  Mrs. 
Backus  requested  me  to  call  at  her  house,  which 


98       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


I  did,  when  she  spoke  of  selling  the  property 
to  our  company  and  requested  me  to  personally 
conduct  the  negotiations  with  her  with  reference 
to  it.  This  I  was  obliged  to  decline  to  do, 
because,  as  I  then  explained  to  her,  I  was  not 
familiar  with  the  details  of  the  business.  In 
that  conversation  I  advised  her  not  to  take  any 
hasty  action,  and  when  she  expressed  fears 
about  the  future  of  the  business,  stating,  for 
example,  that  she  could  not  get  cars  to  trans- 
port sufficient  oil,  I  said  to  her  that,  though 
we  were  using  our  cars  and  required  them 
in  our  business,  yet  we  would  loan  her  any 
number  she  needed,  and  do  anything  else  in 
reason  to  assist  her,  and  I  did  not  see  why 
she  could  not  successfully  prosecute  her  busi- 
ness in  the  future  as  in  the  past.  I  told  her, 
however,  that  if  after  reflection  she  desired  to 
pursue  negotiations  for  the  sale  of  her  property 
some  of  our  people,  familiar  with  the  lubricat- 
ing oil  business,  would  take  up  the  question 
with  her.  As  she  still  expressed  a  desire  to 
have  our  company  buy  her  property,  negotia- 
tions were  taken  up  by  Mr.  Jennings,  and 
the  only  other  thing  that  I  had  to  do  with  the 
matter  was  that  when  our  experts  reported  that 
in  their  judgment  the  value  of  the  works,  good 
will,  and  successorship  which  we  had  decided 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  99 


to  buy  were  worth  a  certain  sum,  I  asked  them 
to  add  $10,000,  in  order  to  make  doubly  sure 
that  she  received  full  value.  The  sale  was 
consummated,  as  we  supposed,  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  Mrs.  Backus,  and  the  purchase 
price  which  had  been  agreed  upon  was  paid. 

To  my  profound  astonishment,  a  day  or 
two  after  the  transaction  had  been  closed,  I 
received  from  her  a  very  unkind  letter  com- 
plaining that  she  had  been  unjustly  treated. 
After  investigating  the  matter  I  wrote  her 
the  following  letter: 

Norember  13,  1878. 

Dear  Madam  : 

I  have  held  your  note  of  the  11th  inst.,  received  yesterday, 
until  to-day,  as  I  wished  to  thoroughly  review  every  point 
connected  with  the  negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  the  stock 
of  the  Backus  Oil  Company,  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  whether 
I  had  unwittingly  done  anything  whereby  you  could  have  any 
right  to  feel  injured.  It  is  true  that  in  the  interview  I  had 
with  you  I  suggested  that  if  you  desired  to  do  so,  you  could 
retain  an  interest  in  the  business  of  the  Backus  Oil  Company, 
by  keeping  some  number  of  its  shares,  and  then  I  understood 
you  to  say  that  if  you  sold  out  you  wished  to  go  entirely  out 
of  the  business.  That  being  my  understanding,  our  arrange- 
ments were  made  in  case  you  concluded  to  make  the  sale  that 
precluded  any  other  interests  being  represented,  and  therefore, 
when  you  did  make  the  inquiry  as  to  your  taking  some  of  the 
stock,  our  answer  was  given  in  accordance  with  the  facts 
noted  above,  but  not  at  all  in  the  spirit  in  which  you  refer  to 


100     RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


the  refusal  in  your  note.  In  regard  to  the  reference  that  you 
make  as  to  my  permitting  the  business  of  the  Backus  Oil  Com- 
pany to  be  taken  from  you,  I  say  that  in  this  as  in  all  else  you 
have  written  in  your  letter  of  the  11th  inst.,  you  do  me  most 
grievous  wrong.  It  was  but  of  little  moment  to  the  interests 
represented  by  me  whether  the  business  of  the  Backus  Oil 
Company  was  purchased  or  not.  I  believe  that  it  was  for  your 
interest  to  make  the  sale,  and  am  entirely  candid  in  this  state- 
ment, and  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  time,  some  two 
years  ago,  when  you  consulted  Mr.  Flagler  and  myself  as  to 
selling  out  your  interests  to  Mr.  Rose,  at  which  time  you  were 
desirous  of  selling  at  considerably  less  price,  and  upon  time, 
than  you  have  now  received  in  cash,  and  which  sale  you  would 
have  been  glad  to  have  closed  if  you  could  have  obtained 
satisfactory  security  for  the  deferred  payments.  As  to  the  price 
paid  for  the  property,  it  is  certainly  three  times  greater  than 
the  cost  at  which  we  could  now  construct  equal  or  better  facili- 
ties; but  wishing  to  take  a  liberal  view  of  it,  I  urged  the  proposal 
of  paying  $60,000,  which  was  thought  much  too  high  by  some 
of  our  parties.  I  believe  that  if  you  would  reconsider  what 
you  have  written  in  your  letter,  to  which  this  is  a  reply,  you 
must  admit  having  done  me  great  injustice,  and  I  am  satisfied 
to  await  upon  your  innate  sense  of  right  for  such  admission. 
However,  in  view  of  what  seems  to  be  your  present  feeling, 
I  now  offer  to  restore  to  you  the  purchase  made  by  us,  you 
simply  returning  the  amount  of  money  which  we  have  invested, 
and  leaving  us  as  though  no  purchase  has  been  made 

Should  you  not  desire  to  accept  this  proposal,  I  offer  to  you 
100,  200  or  300  shares  of  the  stock  at  the  same  price  that  we 
paid  for  the  same,  with  this  addition,  that  if  we  keep  the  prop- 
erty we  are  under  engagement  to  pay  into  the  treasury  of  the 
Backus  Oil  Company  any  amount  which  added  to  the  amount 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  101 


already  paid  would  make  a  total  of  $100,000  and  thereby 
make  the  shares  $100  each. 

That  you  may  not  be  compelled  to  hastily  come  to  a  conclu- 
sion, I  will  leave  open  for  three  days  these  propositions  for 
your  acceptance  or  declination,  and  in  the  meantime  believe  me, 

Yours  very  truly, 

John  D.  Rockefeller. 

Neither  of  these  offers  was  accepted.  In 
order  that  this  may  not  rest  on  my  unsup- 
ported assertion,  I  submit  the  following  docu- 
ments: The  first  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  H.  M. 
Backus,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Backus's  deceased 
husband,  who  had  been  associated  with  the 
business  and  had  remained  with  the  company 
after  his  death.  The  letter  was  written  with- 
out any  solicitation  whatever  on  my  part, 
but  I  have  since  received  permission  from  Mr. 
Backus  to  print  it.  It  is  followed  by  extracts 
from  affidavits  made  by  the  gentleman  who 
conducted  the  negotiations  on  behalf  of  Mrs. 
Backus.  I  have  no  wish  to  reprint  the  com- 
plimentary allusion  to  myself  in  Mr.  Backus 's 
letter,  but  have  feared  to  omit  a  word  of  it  lest 
some  misunderstanding  ensue: 

Bowling  Green,  Ohio, 
Mb.  John  D.  Rockefeller,  September  18,  '03. 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 
I  do  not  know  whether  you  will  ever  receive  this  letter  or  not, 
whether  your  secretary  will  throw  it  into  the  waste-basket  or 


102      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


not,  but  I  will  do  my  part  and  get  it  off  my  mind,  and  it  will 
not  be  my  fault  if  you  do  not  receive  or  read  it.  Ever  since 
the  day  that  my  deceased  brother's  wife,  Mrs.  F.  N.  Backus, 
wrote  you  the  unjust  and  unreasonable  letter  in  reference  to 
the  sale  of  the  property  of  the  old  Backus  Oil  Company,  in 
which  I  had  a  small  interest,  I  have  wanted  to  write  you  and 
record  my  disapproval  of  that  letter.  I  lived  with  my  brother's 
family,  was  at  the  house  the  day  you  called  to  talk  the  matter 
of  the  then  proposed  purchase  of  the  property  with  Mrs. 
Backus  by  her  request,  as  she  told  Mr.  Jennings  that  she 
wanted  to  deal  through  you.  I  was  in  favour  of  the  sale  from 
the  first. 

I  was  with  Mrs.  Backus  all  through  the  trouble  with  Mr. 
Rose  and  with  Mr.  Maloney,  did  what  I  could  to  encourage  her, 
and  to  prevent  Mr.  Rose  from  getting  the  best  of  her.  Mrs. 
Backus,  in  my  opinion,  is  an  exceptionally  good  financier, 
but  she  does  not  know  and  no  one  can  convince  her  that  the 
best  thing  that  ever  happened  to  her  financially  was  the  sale 
of  her  interest  in  the  Backus  Oil  Company  to  your  people. 
She  does  not  know  that  five  more  years  of  the  then  increasing 
desperate  competition  would  have  bankrupted  the  company, 
and  that  with  the  big  debt  that  she  was  carrying  on  the  lot 
on  Euclid  Avenue,  near  Sheriff  Street,  she  would  have  been 
swamped,  and  that  the  only  thing  that  ever  saved  her  and 
the  oil  business  generally  was  the  plan  of  John  D.  Rockefeller. 
She  thinks  that  you  literally  robbed  her  of  millions,  and  feeds 
her  children  on  that  diet  three  times  a  day  more  or  less,  princi- 
pally more,  until  it  has  become  a  mania  with  her,  and  no  argu- 
ment that  any  one  else  can  suggest  will  have  any  effect  upon 
her.  She  is  wise  and  good  in  many  ways,  but  on  that  one  sub- 
ject she  is  one-sided,  I  think.  Of  course,  if  we  could  have  been 
assured  of  continued  dividends,  I  would  have  been  opposed 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  103 


to  selling  the  business,  but  that  was  out  of  the  question.  I 
know  of  the  ten  thousand  dollars  that  was  added  to  the  pur- 
chase price  of  the  property  at  your  request,  and  I  know  that  you 
paid  three  times  the  value  of  the  property,  and  I  know  that 
all  that  ever  saved  our  company  from  ruin  was  the  sale  of  its 
property  to  you,  and  I  simply  want  to  ease  my  mind  by  doing 
justice  to  you  by  saying  so.  After  the  sale  to  your  company 
I  was  simple  enough  to  go  to  Buffalo  and  try  it  again,  but  soon 
met  with  defeat  and  retired  with  my  flag  in  the  dust.  I  then 
went  to  Duluth,  and  was  on  the  top  wave,  till  the  real-estate 
bubble  broke,  and  I  broke  with  it.  I  have  had  my  ups  and 
downs,  but  I  have  tried  to  take  my  medicine  and  look  pleasant 
instead  of  sitting  down  under  a  juniper  tree  and  blaming  my 
losses  to  John  D.  Rockefeller. 

I  suppose  I  would  have  put  off  writing  this  letter  for  another 
year  or  more  as  I  have  done  so  long,  had  it  not  been  for  a  little 
chat  that  I  had  with  Mr.  Hanafin,  Superintendent  of  the  Buck- 
eye Pipe  Line  Company,  a  day  or  two  since  when  I  was  relating 
the  sale,  etc.,  of  the  old  B.  O.  Co.'s  business,  and  in  that  way 
revived  the  intention  that  had  lain  dormant  since  the  last 
good  resolution  in  regard  to  writing  it  was  made.  But  it  9s 
done  now,  and  off  my  mind. 

With  much  respect  and  admiration  to  John  D.  Rockefeller 
I  remain, 

Yours  truly, 

H.  M.  Backus. 

It  appears  from  the  affidavits  that  the  negotia- 
tions were  conducted  on  behalf  of  Mrs.  Backus 
and  her  company  by  Charles  H.  Marr,  who  had 
been  in  the  employ  of  the  Backus  Company  for 
some  time,  and  by  Mr.  Maloney,  who  was  the 


104      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


superintendent  of  the  company  from  the  time 
of  its  organization  and  was  also  a  stockholder; 
and  on  behalf  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  by 
Mr.  Peter  S.  Jennings. 

There  has  been  an  impression  that  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  purchased  for  $79,000 
property  which  was  reasonably  worth  much 
more,  and  that  this  sacrifice  was  occasioned 
by  threats  and  compulsion.  Mr.  Jennings 
requested  Mr.  Marr  to  submit  a  written  pro- 
position giving  the  price  put  by  the  Backus 
Company  upon  the  several  items  of  property 
and  assets  which  it  desired  to  sell.  This 
statement  was  furnished  and  was  annexed 
to  Mr.  Jennings's  affidavit.  The  Standard 
Oil  Company  finally  decided  not  to  purchase 
all  of  the  assets  of  the  company,  but  only  the 
oil  on  hand,  for  which  it  paid  the  full  market 
price,  amounting  to  about  $19,000,  and  the 
item  "works,  good-will,  and  successorship," 
which  were  offered  by  Mr.  Marr  at  $71,000, 
and  for  which  the  Standard  offered  $60,000, 
which  was  promptly  accepted.  Mr.  Marr  made 
affidavit  as  follows: 

"Charles  H.  Marr,  being  duly  sworn,  says  that,  in  behalf 
of  the  Backus  Oil  Company,  he  conducted  the  negotiations 
which  led  to  the  sale  of  its  works,  good- will,  and  stock  of  oils 
and  during  same  when  said  company  had  offered  to  sell  its 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  105 


entire  stock  for  a  gross  sum,  to  wit,  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  ($150,000),  which  was  to  include 
cash  on  hand,  accrued  dividends,  accounts,  etc.,  said  Jennings 
requested  said  company  to  submit  an  itemized  proposition 
fixing  values  upon  different  articles  proposed  to  be  sold,  and 
that  he,  after  full  consideration  with  Mrs.  Backus  and  with 
her  knowledge  and  consent,  submitted  the  written  proposition 
attached  to  said  Jennings's  affidavit;  that  the  same  is  in  his 
handwriting,  and  was  copied  at  the  office  of  the  American 
Lubricating  Oil  Company  from  the  original  by  himself  at  the 
request  of  said  Jennings,  and  said  original  was  submitted  by 
affiant  to  Mrs.  Backus. 

"That  she  was  fully  cognizant  of  all  the  details  of  said  nego- 
tiations and  the  items  and  values  attached  thereto  in  said 
proposition,  consulted  with  at  every  step  thereof,  none  of  which 
were  taken  without  her  advice,  as  she  was  by  far  the  largest 
stockholder  in  said  Backus  Oil  Company,  owning  about  seven- 
tenths  (^)  of  said  company's  stock,  and  she  fully  approved 
of  said  proposition,  and  accepted  the  offer  of  said  Jennings  to 
pay  sixty  thousand  dollars  ($60,000)  for  the  item  works,  good- 
will, and  successorship  without  any  opposition,  so  far  as  affiant 
knows.  And  affiant  says  that  the  amount  realized  from  the 
assets  of  the  Backus  Oil  Company,  including  purchase  price, 
has  been  about  one  hundred  and  thirty- three  thousand  dollars 
($133,000),  and  a  part  of  its  assets  have  not  yet  been  converted 
into  money  as  affiant  is  informed." 

Mr.  Marr,  who  was,  it  will  be  remembered, 
the  widow's  representative,  refers  to  the  negotia- 
tions leading  up  to  the  purchase  and  says : 

"But  affiant  says  that  nothing  that  was  said  by  Mr.  Jennings 
or  anybody  else  during  their  progress  could  be  construed  into 


106      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


a  threat,  nor  did  anything  that  was  said  or  done  by  said  Jen- 
nings hasten  or  push  forward  said  trade." 

He  also  says: 

"Affiant  says  that  the  negotiations  extended  over  a  period 
of  from  two  to  three  weeks  .  .  .  and  during  their  pen- 
dency that  Mrs.  Backus  frequently  urged  affiant  to  bring  the 
same  to  a  conclusion  as  she  was  anxious  to  dispose  of  said 
business  and  relieve  herself  from  further  care  and  responsibility 
therewith.  And  when  the  said  offer  of  purchase  by  said  Jen- 
nings upon  the  terms  aforesaid  was  conveyed  to  her  by  affiant, 
she  expressed  herself  as  entirely  satisfied  therewith." 

Mr.  Maloney  made  an  affidavit  that  he  was 
superintendent  of  the  Backus  Oil  Company 
from  the  time  of  its  organization,  and  also  a 
stockholder  in  the  company,  and  had  been 
associated  in  business  with  Mr.  Backus  for 
many  years  previous  to  his  death;  that  he 
took  part  in  the  negotiations  for  the  sale,  repre- 
senting Mrs.  Backus  in  the  matter.  After 
speaking  of  the  negotiations,  he  says: 

"Finally,  after  consultation,  the  proposition  was  made  by 
her  to  dispose  of  the  works,  good- will,  and  successorship  for 
$71,000.  A  few  days  after  the  proposal  was  made  to  her  to 
pay  the  sum  of  $60,000  for  works  and  good-will,  and  to  take 
the  oil  on  hand  at  its  market  price,  which  proposition  she 
accepted,  and  the  sale  was  concluded. 

"During  these  negotiations  Mrs.  Backus  was  anxious  to 
sell,  and  was  entirely  satisfied  with  the  sale  after  it  was  con- 
cluded.   I  know  of  the  fact  that  about  a  year  and  a  half  pre- 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  107 


vious  she  had  offered  to  sell  out  the  stock  of  the  Backus  Oil 
Company  at  from  30  to  33  per  cent,  less  than  she  received  in 
the  sale  referred  to,  and  the  value  of  the  works  and  property 
sold  had  not  increased  in  the  meantime.  I  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  works  of  the  Backus  Oil  Company  and  their  value. 
I  could  at  the  time  of  the  sale  have  built  the  works  new  for 
$25,000.  There  were  no  threats  nor  intimidations,  nor  any- 
thing of  the  kind  used  to  force  the  sale.  The  negotiations 
were  pleasant  and  fair,  and  the  price  paid  in  excess  of 
the  value,  and  satisfactory  to  Mrs.  Backus  and  all  concerned 
for  her." 

So  far  as  I  can  see,  after  more  than  30  years 
have  elapsed,  there  was  nothing  but  the  most 
kindly  and  considerate  treatment  of  Mrs.  Backus 
on  the  part  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  I 
regret  that  Mrs.  Backus  did  not  take  at  least 
part  of  her  pay  in  Standard  certificates,  as  we 
suggested  she  should  do. 

THE  QUESTION  OF  REBATES 

Of  all  the  subjects  which  seem  to  have 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the 
affairs  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  the 
matter  of  rebates  from  railroads  has  perhaps 
been  uppermost.  The  Standard  Oil  Company 
of  Ohio,  of  which  I  was  president,  did  receive 
rebates  from  the  railroads  prior  to  1880,  but 
received  no  advantages  for  which  it  did  not 
give  full  compensation.    The  reason  for  rebates 


108       RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


was  that  such  was  the  railroads'  method  of 
business.  A  public  rate  was  made  and  col- 
lected by  the  railroad  companies,  but,  so 
far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  was  seldom 
retained  in  full;  a  portion  of  it  was  repaid  to 
the  shippers  as  a  rebate.  By  this  method  the 
real  rate  of  freight  which  any  shipper  paid  was 
not  known  by  his  competitors  nor  by  other 
railroad  companies,  the  amount  being  a  matter 
of  bargain  with  the  carrying  company.  Each 
shipper  made  the  best  bargain  that  he  could, 
but  whether  he  was  doing  better  than  his  com- 
petitor was  only  a  matter  of  conjecture.  Much 
depended  upon  whether  the  shipper  had  the 
advantage  of  competition  of  carriers. 

The  Standard  Oil  Company  of  Ohio,  being 
situated  at  Cleveland,  had  the  advantage  of 
different  carrying  lines,  as  well  as  of  water 
transportation  in  the  summer;  taking  advan- 
tage of  those  facilities,  it  made  the  best  bargains 
possible  for  its  freights.  Other  companies 
sought  to  do  the  same.  The  Standard  gave 
advantages  to  the  railroads  for  the  purpose  of 
reducing  the  cost  of  transportation  of  freight. 
It  offered  freights  in  large  quantity,  car-loads 
and  train-loads.  It  furnished  loading  facilities 
and  discharging  facilities  at  great  cost.  It 
provided  regular  traffic,  so  that  a  railroad  could 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  109 


conduct  its  transportation  to  the  best  advantage 
and  use  its  equipment  to  the  full  extent  of  its 
hauling  capacity  without  waiting  for  the  refiner's 
convenience.  It  exempted  railroads  from  liabil- 
ity for  fire  and  carried  its  own  insurance.  It 
provided  at  its  own  expense  terminal  facilities 
which  permitted  economies  in  handling.  For 
these  services  it  obtained  contracts  for  special 
allowances  on  freights. 

But  notwithstanding  these  special  allowances, 
this  traffic  from  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
was  far  more  profitable  to  the  railroad  companies 
than  the  smaller  and  irregular  traffic,  which 
might  have  paid  a  higher  rate. 

To  understand  the  situation  which  affected 
the  giving  and  taking  of  rebates  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  railroads  were  all  eager 
to  enlarge  their  freight  traffic.  They  were 
competing  with  the  facilities  and  rates  offered 
by  the  boats  on  lake  and  canal  and  by  the 
pipe-lines.  All  these  means  of  transporting 
oil  cut  into  the  business  of  the  railroads,  and 
they  were  desperately  anxious  to  successfully 
meet  this  competition.  As  I  have  stated  we 
provided  means  for  loading  and  unloading 
cars  expeditiously,  agreed  to  furnish  a  regular 
fixed  number  of  carloads  to  transport  each 
day,  and  arranged  with  them  for  all  the  other 


110      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


things  that  I  have  mentioned,  the  final  result 
being  to  reduce  the  cost  of  transportation  for 
both  the  railroads  and  ourselves.  All  this  was 
following  in  the  natural  laws  of  trade. 

PIPE-LINES  VS.  RAILROADS 

The  building  of  the  pipe-lines  introduced 
another  formidable  competitor  to  the  rail- 
roads, but  as  oil  could  be  transported  by  pump- 
ing through  pipes  at  a  much  less  cost  than  by 
hauling  in  tank-cars  in  a  railroad  train  the 
development  of  the  pipe-line  was  inevitable. 
The  question  was  simply  whether  the  oil  traffic 
was  sufficient  in  volume  to  make  the  investment 
profitable.  When  pipe-lines  had  been  built  to 
oil  fields  where  the  wells  had  ceased  to  yield,  as 
often  happened,  they  were  about  the  most  useless 
property  imaginable. 

An  interesting  feature  developed  through 
the  relations  which  grew  up  between  the  rail- 
roads and  the  pipe-lines.  In  many  cases  it 
was  necessary  to  combine  the  facilities  of 
both,  because  the  pipes  reached  only  part 
of  the  way,  and  from  the  place  where  they 
ended  the  railroad  carried  the  oil  to  its  final 
destination.  In  some  instances  a  railroad  had 
formerly  carried  the  oil  the  entire  distance 
upon  an  agreed  rate,  but  now  that  this  oil  was 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  111 


partly  pumped  by  pipe-lines  and  partly  carried 
by  rail,  the  freight  payment  was  divided  between 
the  two.  But,  as  a  through  rate  had  been 
provided,  the  owners  of  the  pipe-line  agreed  to 
remit  a  part  of  its  charges  to  the  railroad,  so  we 
had  cases  where  the  Standard  paid  a  rebate 
to  the  railroad  instead  of  the  reverse  —  but  I 
do  not  remember  having  heard  any  complaint 
of  this  coming  from  the  students  of  these  com- 
plicated subjects. 

The  profits  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
did  not  come  from  advantages  given  by  rail- 
roads. The  railroads,  rather,  were  the  ones 
who  profited  by  the  traffic  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Company,  and  whatever  advantage  it 
received  in  its  constant  efforts  to  reduce  rates 
of  freight  was  only  one  of  the  many  elements 
of  lessening  cost  to  the  consumer  which  enabled 
us  to  increase  our  volume  of  business  the  world 
over  because  we  could  reduce  the  selling  price. 

How  general  was  the  complicated  bargain- 
ing for  rates  can  hardly  be  imagined;  every- 
one got  the  best  rate  that  he  could.  After  the 
passage  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  it  was 
learned  that  many  small  companies  which 
shipped  limited  quantities  had  received  lower 
rates  than  we  had  been  able  to  secure,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  we  had  made  large  invest- 


112      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


merits  to  provide  for  terminal  facilities,  regular 
shipments,  and  other  economies.  I  well  remem- 
ber a  bright  man  from  Boston  who  had  much  to 
say  about  rebates  and  drawbacks.  He  was 
an  old  and  experienced  merchant,  and  looked 
after  his  affairs  with  a  cautious  and  watchful 
eye.  He  feared  that  some  of  his  competitors 
were  doing  better  than  he  in  bargaining  for 
rates,  and  he  delivered  himself  of  this  conviction: 
"I  am  opposed  on  principle  to  the  whole 
system  of  rebates  and  drawbacks  —  unless  I 
am  in  it." 


OTHER  BUSINESS  EXPERIENCES  AND 
BUSINESS  PRINCIPLES 


CHAPTER  V 


Other  Business  Experiences  and  Business 
Principles 

GOING  into  the  iron-ore  fields  was  one 
of  those  experiences  in  which  one  finds 
oneself  rather  against  the  will,  for  it  was  not 
a  deliberate  plan  of  mine  to  extend  my  cares 
and  responsibilities.  My  connection  with  iron 
ores  came  about  through  some  unfortunate 
investments  in  the  Northwest  country. 

These  interests  had  included  a  good  many 
different  industries,  mines,  steel  mills,  paper 
mills,  a  nail  factory,  railroads,  lumber  fields, 
smelting  properties,  and  other  investments  about 
which  I  have  now  forgotten.  I  was  a  minority 
stockholder  in  all  these  enterprises,  and  had 
no  part  in  their  management.  Not  all  of  them 
were  profitable.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  for  a 
period  of  years  just  preceding  the  panic  of  1893, 
values  were  more  or  less  inflated,  and  many 
people  who  thought  they  were  wealthy  found 
that  the  actual  facts  were  quite  different  from 
what    they    had    imagined    when    the  hard 

115 


116      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


experiences  of  that  panic  forced  upon  them 
the  unpalatable  truth. 

Most  of  these  properties  I  had  not  even  seen, 
having  relied  upon  the  investigation  of  others 
respecting  their  worth ;  indeed,  it  has  never  been 
my  custom  to  rely  alone  upon  my  own  knowl- 
edge of  the  value  of  such  plants.  I  have  found 
other  people  who  knew  much  better  than  I  how 
to  investigate  such  enterprises. 

Even  at  this  time  I  had  been  planning  to 
relieve  myself  of  business  cares,  and  the  panic 
only  caused  me  to  postpone  taking  the  long 
holiday  to  which  I  had  been  looking  forward. 
I  was  fortunate  in  making  the  acquaintance  of 
Mr.  Frederick  T.  Gates,  who  was  then  engaged 
in  some  work  in  connection  with  the  American 
Baptist  Education  Society,  which  required  him 
to  travel  extensively  over  the  country,  north, 
south,  east,  and  west. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  Mr.  Gates,  who  had 
a  great  store  of  common  sense,  though  no 
especial  technical  information  about  factories 
and  mills,  might  aid  me  in  securing  some  first- 
hand information  as  to  how  these  concerns 
were  actually  prospering.  Once,  as  he  was 
going  South,  I  suggested  that  he  look  over  an 
iron  mill  in  which  I  had  some  interest  which 
happened  to  be  on  his  route. 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  117 


His  report  was  a  model  of  what  such  a  report 
should  be.  It  stated  the  facts,  and  in  this 
case  they  were  almost  all  unfavourable.  A 
little  later  he  happened  to  be  going  West,  and 
I  gave  him  the  name  and  address  of  property 
in  that  region  in  which  I  held  a  minority  interest. 
I  felt  quite  sure  that  this  particular  property 
was  doing  well,  and  it  was  somewhat  of  a 
shock  to  me  to  learn  through  his  clear  and 
definite  account  that  it  was  only  a  question  of 
time  before  this  enterprise,  too,  which  had  been 
represented  as  rolling  in  money,  would  get  into 
trouble  if  things  kept  on  as  they  were  going. 

NURSING  THE  COMMERCIALLY  ILL 

I  then  arranged  with  Mr.  Gates  to  accept 
a  position  whereby  he  could  help  me  unravel 
these  tangled  affairs,  and  become,  like  myself, 
a  man  of  business,  but  it  was  agreed  between 
us  that  he  should  not  abandon  his  larger  and 
more  important  plans  for  working  out  some 
philanthropic  aspirations  that  he  had. 

Right  here  I  may  stop  to  give  credit  to  Mr. 
Gates  for  possessing  a  combination  of  rare 
business  ability,  very  highly  developed  and 
very  honourably  exercised,  overshadowed  by 
a  passion  to  accomplish  some  great  and  far- 
reaching  benefits  to  mankind,  the  influence 


118      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


of  which  will  last.  He  is  the  chairman  of  the 
General  Education  Board  and  active  in  many 
other  boards,  and  for  years  he  has  helped  in 
the  various  plans  that  we  have  been  interested 
in  where  money  was  given  in  the  hope  that  it 
would  do  something  more  than  temporary 
service. 

Mr.  Gates  has  for  many  years  been  closely 
associated  with  my  personal  affairs.  He  has 
been  through  strenuous  times  with  me,  and  has 
taken  cares  of  many  kinds  off  my  shoulders, 
leaving  me  more  time  to  play  golf,  plan  roads, 
move  trees,  and  follow  other  congenial  occu- 
pations. His  efforts  in  the  investigations  in 
connection  with  our  educational  contributions, 
our  medical  research,  and  other  kindred  works 
have  been  very  successful.  During  the  last 
ten  or  twelve  years  my  son  has  shared  with  Mr. 
Gates  the  responsibility  of  this  work,  and  more 
recently  Mr.  Starr  J.  Murphy  has  also  joined 
with  us  to  help  Mr.  Gates,  who  has  borne  the 
heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  and  has  well  earned 
some  leisure  which  we  have  wanted  him  to 
enjoy. 

But  to  return  to  the  story  of  our  troubled 
investments:  Mr.  Gates  went  into  the  study 
of  each  of  these  business  concerns,  and  did 
the  best  he  could  with  them.    It  has  been  our 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  119 


policy  never  to  allow  a  company  in  which  we 
had  an  interest  to  be  thrown  into  the  bank- 
ruptcy court  if  we  could  prevent  it ;  for  receiver- 
ships are  very  costly  in  many  ways  and  often 
involve  heavy  sacrifices  of  genuine  values. 
Our  plan  has  been  to  stay  with  the  institution, 
nurse  it,  lend  it  money  when  necessary,  improve 
facilities,  cheapen  production,  and  avail  our- 
selves of  the  opportunities  which  time  and 
patience  are  likely  to  bring  to  make  it  self- 
sustaining  and  successful.  So  we  went  care- 
fully through  the  affairs  of  these  crippled 
enterprises  in  the  hard  times  of  1893  and 
1894,  carrying  many  of  them  for  years  after; 
sometimes  buying  the  interests  of  others  and 
sometimes  selling  our  own  interest,  but  all 
or  nearly  all  escaped  the  expenses  and  humil- 
iation of  bankruptcy,  receivership,  and  fore- 
closure. 

Before  these  matters  were  entirely  closed  up 
we  had  a  vast  amount  of  experience  in  the 
doctoring  of  the  commercially  ill.  My  only 
excuse  for  dwelling  upon  the  subject  at  this  late 
day  is  to  point  out  the  fact  to  some  business 
men  who  get  discouraged  that  much  can  be 
done  by  careful  and  patient  attention,  even 
when  the  business  is  apparently  in  very  deep 
water.    It   requires   two  things:  some  added 


120      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


capital,  put  in  by  one's  self  or  secured  from 
others,  and  a  strict  adherence  to  the  sound 
natural  laws  of  business. 

THE  ORE  MINES 

Among  these  investments  were  some  shares 
in  a  number  of  ore  mines  and  an  interest  in 
the  stocks  and  bonds  of  a  railroad  being  built  to 
carry  the  ore  from  the  mines  to  lake  ports. 
We  had  great  faith  in  these  mines,  but  to  work 
them  the  railroad  was  necessary.  It  had  been 
begun,  but  in  the  panic  of  1893  it  and  all  other 
developments  were  nearly  ruined.  Although 
we  were  minority  holders  of  the  stock,  it  seemed 
to  be  "up  to  us"  to  keep  the  enterprise  alive 
through  the  harrowing  panic  days.  I  had  to 
loan  my  personal  securities  to  raise  money,  and 
finally  we  were  compelled  to  supply  a  great 
deal  of  actual  cash,  and  to  get  it  we  were  obliged 
to  go  into  the  then  greatly  upset  money  market 
and  buy  currency  at  a  high  premium  to  ship 
west  by  express  to  pay  the  labourers  on  the 
railroad  and  to  keep  them  alive.  When  the 
fright  of  the  panic  period  subsided,  and  matters 
became  a  little  more  settled,  we  began  to  realize 
our  situation.  We  had  invested  many  millions, 
and  no  one  wanted  to  go  in  with  us  to  buy  stock. 
On  the  contrary,  everybody  else  seemed  to  want 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  121 


to  sell.  The  stock  was  offered  to  us  in  alarm- 
ing quantities  —  substantially  all  of  the  capital 
stock  of  the  companies  came  without  any 
solicitation  on  our  part  —  quite  the  contrary 
—  and  we  paid  for  it  in  cash. 

We  now  found  ourselves  in  control  of  a  great 
amount  of  ore  lands,  from  some  of  which  the 
ore  could  be  removed  by  a  steam  shovel  for  a 
few  cents  a  ton,  but  we  still  faced  a  most  imper- 
fect and  inadequate  method  of  transporting  the 
ore  to  market. 

When  we  realized  that  events  were  shaping 
themselves  so  that  to  protect  our  investments 
we  should  be  obliged  to  go  into  the  business  of 
selling  in  a  large  way,  we  felt  that  we  must  not 
stop  short  of  doing  the  work  as  effectively  as 
possible;  and  having  already  put  in  so  much 
money,  we  bought  all  the  ore  land  that  we 
thought  was  good  that  was  offered  to  us.  The 
railroad  and  the  ships  were  only  a  means  to  an 
end.  The  ore  lands  were  the  crux  of  the  whole 
matter,  and  we  believed  that  we  could  never 
have  too  many  good  mines. 

It  was  a  surprise  to  me  that  the  great  iron  and 
steel  manufacturers  did  not  place  what  seemed 
to  be  an  adequate  value  on  these  mines.  The 
lands  which  contained  a  good  many  of  our 
best  ore  mines   could  have  been  purchased 


122      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


very  cheaply  before  we  became  interested. 
Having  launched  ourselves  into  the  venture, 
we  decided  to  supply  ore  to  every  one  who 
needed  it,  by  mining  and  transporting  with 
the  newest  and  most  effective  facilities,  and 
our  profits  we  invested  in  more  ore  lands. 

Mr.  Gates  became  the  president  of  the  various 
companies  which  owned  the  mines  and  the 
railroad  to  the  lake  to  transport  the  ores,  and 
he  started  to  learn  and  develop  the  business 
of  ore  mining  and  transportation.  He  not 
only  proved  to  be  an  apt  scholar,  but  he  really 
mastered  the  various  complexities  of  the  busi- 
ness. He  did  all  the  work,  and  only  consulted 
me  when  he  wished  to;  yet  I  remember  several 
interesting  experiences  connected  with  the  work- 
ing out  of  these  problems. 

BUILDING  THE  SHIPS 

After  this  railroad  problem  was  solved,  it 
was  apparent  that  we  needed  our  own  ships  to 
transport  the  ore  down  the  lakes.  We  knew 
absolutely  nothing  of  building  ships  for  ore 
transportation,  and  so,  following  out  our  cus- 
tom, we  went  to  the  man  who,  in  our  judgment, 
had  the  widest  knowledge  of  the  subject.  He 
was  already  well  known  to  us,  but  was  in  the 
ore  transportation  business  on  a  large  scale  on 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  123 


his  own  account  and,  of  course,  the  moment  we 
began  to  ship  ore  we  realized  that  we  would 
become  competitors.  Mr.  Gates  got  into  com- 
munication with  this  expert,  and  came  with 
him  one  evening  to  my  house  in  New  York 
just  before  dinner.  He  said  he  could  stay  only 
a  few  minutes,  but  I  told  him  that  I  thought  we 
could  finish  up  our  affairs  in  ten  minutes  and 
we  did.  This  is  the  only  time  I  remember 
seeing  personally  any  one  on  the  business  of 
the  ore  company.  All  the  conferences,  as  I 
said  before,  were  carried  on  by  Mr.  Gates, 
who  seemed  to  enjoy  work,  and  he  has  had 
abundant  privileges  in  that  direction. 

We  explained  to  this  gentleman  that  we  were 
proposing  to  transport  our  ore  from  these  Lake 
Superior  lands  ourselves,  and  that  we  should 
like  to  have  him  assume  charge  of  the  con- 
struction of  several  ships,  to  be  of  the  largest 
and  most  approved  type,  for  our  chance  of 
success  lay  in  having  boats  which  could  be 
operated  with  the  greatest  efficiency.  At  that 
time  the  largest  ships  carried  about  five  thou- 
sand tons,  but  in  1900,  when  we  sold  out,  we 
had  ships  that  carried  seven  thousand  or  eight 
thousand  tons,  and  now  there  are  some  that 
transport  as  much  as  ten  thousand  tons  and 
more. 


124      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


This  expert  naturally  replied  that  as  he 
was  in  the  ore-carrying  trade  himself,  he 
had  no  desire  to  encourage  us  to  go  into  it. 
We  explained  to  him  that  as  we  had  made  this 
large  investment,  it  seemed  to  us  to  be  neces- 
sary for  the  protection  of  our  interests  to  con- 
trol our  own  lake  carriers,  so  we  had  decided 
to  mine,  ship,  and  market  the  ore;  that  we 
came  to  him  because  he  could  plan  and  super- 
intend the  construction  of  the  best  ships  for 
us,  and  that  we  wanted  to  deal  with  him  for 
that  reason;  that  notwithstanding  that  he  repre- 
sented one  of  the  largest  firms  among  our  com- 
petitors, we  knew  that  he  was  honest  and 
straightforward ;  and  that  we  were  most  anxious 
to  deal  with  him. 

EMPLOYING  A  COMPETITOR 

He  still  demurred,  but  we  tried  to  convince 
him  that  we  were  not  to  be  deterred  from  going 
into  the  trade,  and  that  we  were  willing  to  pay 
him  a  satisfactory  commission  for  looking 
after  the  building  of  the  ships.  Somebody, 
we  explained,  was  going  to  do  the  work  for  us, 
and  he  might  as  well  have  the  profit  as  the  next 
man.  This  argument  finally  seemed  to  impress 
him  and  we  then  and  there  closed  an  agree- 
ment, the  details  of  which  were  worked  out 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  125 


afterward  to  our  mutual  satisfaction.  This 
gentleman  was  Mr.  Samuel  Mather  of  Cleve- 
land. He  spent  only  a  few  minutes  in  the 
house,  during  which  time  we  gave  him  the  order 
for  about  $3,000,000  worth  of  ships  and  this 
was  the  only  time  I  saw  him.  But  Mr.  Mather 
is  a  man  of  high  business  honour,  we  trusted 
him  implicitly  although  he  was  a  competitor, 
and  we  never  had  occasion  to  regret  it. 

At  that  time  there  were  some  nine  or  ten 
shipbuilding  companies  located  at  various  points 
on  the  Great  Lakes.  All  were  independent 
of  each  other  and  there  was  sharp  competition 
between  them.  Times  were  pretty  hard  with 
them;  their  business  had  not  yet  recovered 
from  the  panic  of  1893,  they  were  not  able  to 
keep  their  works  in  full  operation;  it  was  in 
the  fall  of  the  year  and  many  of  their  employees 
were  facing  a  hard  winter.  We  took  this  into 
account  in  considering  how  many  ships  we 
should  build,  and  we  made  up  our  minds 
that  we  would  build  all  the  ships  that  could 
be  built  and  give  employment  to  the  idle  men 
on  the  Great  Lakes.  Accordingly  we  instructed 
Mr.  Mather  to  write  to  each  firm  of  shipbuilders 
and  ascertain  how  many  ships  they  could  build 
and  put  in  readiness  for  operation  at  the  open- 
ing of  navigation  the  next  spring.    He  found 


126      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


that  some  companies  could  build  one,  some 
could  build  two,  and  that  the  total  number 
would  be  twelve.  Accordingly  we  asked  him 
to  have  constructed  twelve  ships,  all  of  steel, 
all  of  the  largest  capacity  then  understood  to 
be  practicable  on  the  Great  Lakes.  Some  of 
them  were  to  be  steamships  and  some  consorts, 
for  towing,  but  all  were  to  be  built  on  sub- 
stantially the  same  general  pattern,  which  was 
to  represent  the  best  ideals  then  prevalent 
for  ore-carrying  ships. 

In  giving  such  an  order  he  was  exposed, 
of  course,  to  the  risk  of  paying  very  high  prices. 
This  would  have  been  certain  if  Mr.  Mather 
had  announced  in  advance  that  he  was  prepared 
to  build  twelve  ships  and  asked  bids  on  them. 
Just  how  he  managed  it  I  was  not  told  until 
long  after,  and  though  it  is  now  an  old  story 
of  the  lakes  I  repeat  it  as  it  may  be  new  to  many. 
Mr.  Mather  kept  the  secret  of  the  number  of 
ships  he  wished  to  construct  absolutely  to 
himself.  He  sent  his  plans  and  specifications, 
each  substantially  a  duplicate  of  the  others,  to 
each  of  the  firms,  and  asked  each  firm  to  bid 
on  one  or  two  ships  as  the  case  might  be.  All 
naturally  supposed  that  at  most  only  two  ships 
were  to  be  built,  and  each  was  extremely  eager 
to  get  the  work,  or  at  least  one  of  the  two  vessels. 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  127 


On  the  day  before  the  contracts  were  to 
be  let,  all  the  bidders  were  in  Cleveland  on 
the  invitation  of  Mr.  Mather.  One  by  one 
they  were  taken  into  his  private  office  for  special 
conference  covering  all  the  details  preparatory 
to  the  final  bid.  At  the  appointed  hour  the  bids 
were  in.  Deep  was  the  interest  on  the  part  of 
all  the  gentlemen  as  to  who  would  be  the  lucky 
one  to  draw  the  prize.  Mr.  Mather's  manner 
had  convinced  each  that  somehow  he  himself 
must  be  the  favoured  bidder,  yet  when  he 
came  to  meet  his  competitors  in  the  hotel  lobby 
the  beams  of  satisfaction  which  plainly  ema- 
nated from  their  faces  also  compelled  many 
heart  searchings. 

At  last  the  crucial  hour  came,  and  at  about 
the  same  moment  each  gentleman  received  a 
little  note  from  Mr.  Mather,  conveying  to  him 
the  tidings  that  to  him  had  been  awarded  a 
contract  sufficient  to  supply  his  works  to  their 
utmost  capacity.  They  all  rushed  with  a  com- 
mon impulse  to  the  hotel  lobby  where  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  meet,  each  bent  on  dis- 
playing his  note  and  commiserating  his  unsuc- 
cessful rivals,  only  to  discover  that  each  had  a 
contract  for  all  he  could  do,  and  that  each  had 
been  actually  bidding  against  nobody  but  him- 
self.   Great  was  the  hilarity  which  covered 


128      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


their  chagrin  when  they  met  and  compared 
notes  and  looked  into  each  others'  faces.  How- 
ever, all  were  happy  and  satisfied.  But  it 
may  be  said  in  passing  that  these  amiable  gentle- 
men all  united  subsequently  in  one  company, 
which  has  had  a  highly  satisfactory  career,  and 
that  we  paid  a  more  uniform  price  for  our  sub- 
sequent purchases  of  ships  after  the  combination 
had  been  made. 

A  LANDSMAN  FOR  SHIP  MANAGER 

With  these  ships  ordered,  we  were  fairly  at 
the  beginning  of  the  ore  enterprise.  But  we 
realized  that  we  had  to  make  some  arrange- 
ment to  operate  the  ships,  and  we  again  turned 
to  our  competitor,  Mr.  Mather,  in  the  hope 
that  he  would  add  this  to  his  cares.  Unfor- 
tunately, because  of  his  obligations  to  others, 
he  felt  that  this  was  impractical.  I  asked 
Mr.  Gates  one  day  soon  after  this: 

"How  are  we  to  get  some  one  to  run  these 
big  ships  we  have  ordered?  Do  you  know 
of  any  experienced  firm?" 

"No,"  said  Mr.  Gates,  "I  do  not  know  of 
any  firm  to  suggest  at  the  moment,  but  why 
not  run  them  ourselves  ?" 

"You  don't  know  anything  about  ships, 
do  you?" 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  129 


"No,"  he  admitted,  "but  I  have  in  mind 
a  man  who  I  believe  could  do  it,  although 
when  I  tell  you  about  him  I  fear  you  will  think 
that  his  qualifications  are  not  the  best.  How- 
ever, he  has  the  essentials.  He  lives  up  the 
state,  and  never  was  on  a  ship  in  his  life.  He 
probably  would  n't  know  the  bow  from  the 
stern,  or  a  sea-anchor  from  an  umbrella,  but 
he  has  good  sense,  he  is  honest,  enterprising, 
keen,  and  thrifty.  He  has  the  art  of  quickly 
mastering  a  subject  even  though  it  be  new  to 
him  and  difficult.  We  still  have  some  months 
before  the  ships  will  be  completed,  and  if  we 
put  him  to  work  now,  he  will  be  ready  to  run 
the  ships  as  soon  as  they  are  ready  to  be  run." 

"All  right,"  I  said,  "let 's  give  him  the  job," 
and  we  did. 

That  man  was  Mr.  L.  M.  Bowers;  he  came 
from  Broome  County,  New  York.  Mr.  Bowers 
went  from  point  to  point  on  the  lakes  where 
the  boats  were  building,  and  studied  them 
minutely.  He  was  quickly  able  to  make 
valuable  suggestions  about  their  construction, 
which  were  approved  and  adopted  by  the 
designers.  When  the  vessels  were  finished,  he 
took  charge  of  them  from  the  moment  they 
floated,  and  he  managed  these  and  the  dozens 
which  followed  with  a  skill  and  ability  that 


130      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


commanded  the  admiration  of  all  the  sailors 
on  the  lakes.  He  even  invented  an  anchor 
which  he  used  with  our  fleet,  and  later  it  was 
adopted  by  other  vessels,  and  I  have  heard 
that  it  is  used  in  the  United  States  Navy.  He 
remained  in  his  position  until  we  sold  out.  We 
have  given  Mr.  Bowers  all  sorts  of  hard  tasks 
since  we  retired  from  the  lake  traffic  and  have 
found  him  always  successful.  Lately  the  health 
of  a  member  of  his  family  has  made  it  desirable 
for  him  to  live  in  Colorado,  and  he  is  now  the 
vigorous  and  efficient  vice-president  of  the 
Colorado  Fuel  and  Iron  Company. 

The  great  ships  and  the  railroad  put  us  in 
possession  of  the  most  favourable  facilities. 
From  the  first  the  organization  was  successful. 
We  built  up  a  huge  trade,  mining  and  carrying 
ore  to  Cleveland  and  other  lake  ports.  We 
kept  on  building  and  developing  until  finally 
the  fleet  grew  until  it  included  fifty-six  large 
steel  vessels,  This  enterprise,  in  common  with 
many  other  important  business  undertakings 
in  which  I  was  interested,  required  very  little 
of  my  personal  attention,  owing  to  my  good 
fortune  in  having  active,  competent,  and  thor- 
oughly reliable  representatives  who  assumed 
so  largely  the  responsibilities  of  administration. 
It  gives  me  pleasure  to  state  that  the  confidence 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  131 

which  I  have  freely  given  to  business  men 
with  whom  I  have  been  associated  has  been 
so  fully  justified. 

SELLING  TO  THE  STEEL  COMPANY 

The  work  went  on  uninterruptedly  and  pros- 
perously until  the  formation  of  the  United 
States  Steel  Corporation.  A  representative  of 
this  corporation  came  to  see  us  about  selling 
the  land,  the  ore,  and  the  fleet  of  ships.  The 
business  was  going  on  smoothly,  and  we  had 
no  pressing  need  to  sell,  but  as  the  organizer 
of  the  new  company  felt  that  our  mines  and 
railroads  and  ships  were  a  necessary  part  of 
the  scheme,  we  told  him  we  would  be  pleased 
to  facilitate  the  completion  of  the  great  under- 
taking. They  had,  I  think,  already  closed 
with  Mr.  Carnegie  for  his  various  properties. 
After  some  negotiation,  they  made  an  offer 
which  we  accepted,  whereby  the  whole  plant  — 
mines,  ships,  railway,  etc. —  should  become  a 
part  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation. 
The  price  paid  was,  we  felt,  very  moderate 
considering  the  present  and  prospective  value 
of  the  property. 

This  transaction  bids  fair  to  show  a  great 
profit  to  the  Steel  Company  for  many  years, 
and  as  our  payment  was  largely  in  the  securi- 


132     RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


ties  of  the  company  we  had  the  opportunity 
to  participate  in  this  prosperity.  And  so, 
after  a  period  of  about  seven  years,  I  went  out 
of  all  association  with  the  mining,  the  trans- 
porting, and  the  selling  of  iron  ore. 

FOLLOW  THE  LAWS  OF  TRADE 

Going  over  again  in  my  mind  the  events 
connected  with  this  ore  experience  that  grew 
out  of  investments  that  seemed  at  the  time, 
to  say  the  least,  rather  unpromising,  I  am 
impressed  anew  with  the  importance  of  a  prin- 
ciple I  have  often  referred  to.  If  I  can  make 
this  point  clear  to  the  young  man  who  has  had 
the  patience  to  follow  these  Reminiscences 
so  far,  it  will  be  a  satisfaction  to  me  and  I  hope 
it  may  be  a  benefit  to  him. 

The  underlying,  essential  element  of  success 
in  business  affairs  is  to  follow  the  established 
laws  of  high-class  dealing.  Keep  to  broad 
and  sure  lines,  and  study  them  to  be  cer- 
tain that  they  are  correct  ones.  Watch 
the  natural  operations  of  trade,  and  keep 
within  them.  Don't  even  think  of  temporary 
or  sharp  advantages.  Don't  waste  your  effort 
on  a  thing  which  ends  in  a  petty  triumph  unless 
you  are  satisfied  with  a  life  of  petty  success. 
Be  sure  that  before  you  go  into  an  enterprise 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  133 


you  see  your  way  clear  to  stay  through  to  a 
successful  end.  Look  ahead.  It  is  surprising 
how  many  bright  business  men  go  into  impor- 
tant undertakings  with  little  or  no  study  of 
the  controlling  conditions  they  risk  their  all 
upon. 

Study  diligently  your  capital  requirements, 
and  fortify  yourself  fully  to  cover  possible 
set-backs,  because  you  can  absolutely  count 
on  meeting  set-backs.  Be  sure  that  you  are 
not  deceiving  yourself  at  any  time  about  actual 
conditions.  The  man  who  starts  out  simply 
with  the  idea  of  getting  rich  won't  succeed; 
you  must  have  a  larger  ambition.  There  is  no 
mystery  in  business  success.  The  great  indus- 
trial leaders  have  told  again  and  again  the  plain 
and  obvious  fact  that  there  can  be  no  permanent 
success  without  fair  dealing  that  leads  to  wide- 
spread confidence  in  the  man  himself,  and  that 
is  the  real  capital  we  all  prize  and  work  for. 
If  you  do  each  day's  task  successfully,  and  stay 
faithfully  within  these  natural  operations  of 
commercial  laws  which  I  talk  so  much  about, 
and  keep  your  head  clear,  you  will  come  out  all 
right,  and  will  then,  perhaps,  forgive  me  for 
moralizing  in  this  old-fashioned  way.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  caution  a  young  man  who 
reads  so  sober  a  book  as  this  not  to  lose  his 


134      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


head  over  a  little  success,  or  to  grow  impatient 
or  discouraged  by  a  little  failure. 

PANIC  EXPERIENCES 

I  had  desired  to  retire  from  business  in  the 
early  nineties.  Having  begun  work  so  young, 
I  felt  that  at  fifty  it  was  due  me  to  have  free- 
dom from  absorption  in  active  business  affairs 
and  to  devote  myself  to  a  variety  ot  interests 
other  than  money  making,  which  had  claimed 
a  portion  of  my  time  since  the  beginning  of  my 
business  career.  But  1891-92  were  years  of 
ominous  outlook.  In  1893  the  storm  broke, 
and  I  had  many  investments  to  care  for,  as  I 
have  already  related.  This  year  and  the  next 
was  a  trying  period  of  grave  anxiety  to  every 
one.  No  one  could  retire  from  work  at  such 
a  time.  In  the  Standard  we  continued  to  make 
progress  even  through  all  these  panic  years, 
as  we  had  large  reserves  of  cash  on  account  of 
our  very  conservative  methods  of  financing. 
In  1894  or  1895  I  was  able  to  carry  out  my 
plans  to  be  relieved  from  any  association  with 
the  actual  management  of  the  company's 
affairs.  From  that  time,  as  I  have  said,  I 
have  had  little  or  no  part  in  the  conduct  of 
the  business. 

Since  1857  I  can  remember  all  the  great 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  135 


panics,  but  I  believe  the  panic  of  1907  was 
the  most  trying.  No  one  escaped  from  it, 
great  or  small.  Important  institutions  had 
to  be  supported  and  carried  through  the  time 
of  distrust  and  unreasoning  fear.  To  Mr. 
Morgan's  real  and  effective  help  I  should 
join  with  other  business  men  and  give  great 
praise.  His  commanding  personality  served 
a  most  valuable  end.  He  acted  quickly  and 
resolutely  when  quickness  and  decision  were 
the  things  most  needed  to  regain  confidence, 
and  he  was  efficiently  seconded  by  many  able 
and  leading  financiers  of  the  country  who 
cooperated  courageously  and  effectively  to 
restore  confidence  and  prosperity.  The  ques- 
tion has  been  asked  if  I  think  we  shall  revive 
quickly  from  the  panic  of  October,  1907.  I 
hesitate  to  speak  on  the  subject,  since  I  am 
not  a  prophet  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet;  but 
as  to  the  ultimate  outcome  there  is,  of  course,  no 
doubt.  This  temporary  set-back  will  lead  to 
safer  institutions  and  more  conservative  manage- 
ment upon  the  part  of  every  one,  and  this  is  a 
quality  we  need.  It  will  not  long  depress  our 
wonderful  spirit  of  initiative.  The  country's 
resources  have  not  been  cut  down  nor  injured  by 
financial  distrust.  A  gradual  recovery  will 
only  tend  to  make  the  future  all  the  more  secure, 


136      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


and  patience  is  a  virtue  in  business  affairs  as  in 
other  things. 

Here  again  I  would  venture  to  utter  a  word 
of  caution  to  business  men.  Let  them  study 
their  own  affairs  frankly,  and  face  the  truth. 
If  their  methods  are  extravagant,  let  them 
realize  the  facts  and  act  accordingly.  One 
cannot  successfully  go  against  natural  tenden- 
cies, and  it  is  folly  to  fail  to  recognize  them. 
It  is  not  easy  for  so  impressionable  and  imag- 
inative a  people  as  we  Americans  are  to  come 
down  to  plain,  hard  facts,  yet  we  are  doing 
it  without  loss  of  self-esteem  or  prestige  through- 
out the  world. 


THE  DIFFICULT  ART  OF  GIVING 


CHAPTER  VI 


The  Difficult  Art  of  Giving 

IT  IS,  no  doubt,  easy  to  write  platitudes  and 
generalities  about  the  joys  of  giving,  and 
the  duty  that  one  owes  to  one's  fellow  men, 
and  to  put  together  again  all  the  familiar  phrases 
that  have  served  for  generations  whenever  the 
subject  has  been  taken  up. 

I  can  hardly  hope  to  succeed  in  starting  any 
new  interest  in  this  great  subject  when  gifted 
writers  have  so  often  failed.  Yet  I  confess  I 
find  much  more  interest  in  it  at  this  time  than 
in  rambling  on,  as  I  have  been  doing,  about  the 
affairs  of  business  and  trade.  It  is  most  dif- 
ficult, however,  to  dwell  upon  a  very  practical 
and  businesslike  side  of  benefactions  generally, 
without  seeming  to  ignore,  or  at  least  to  fail 
to  appreciate  fully,  the  spirit  of  giving  which 
has  its  source  in  the  heart,  and  which,  of  course, 
makes  it  all  worth  while. 

In  this  country  we  have  come  to  the  period 
when  we  can  well  afford  to  ask  the  ablest 
men  to  devote  more  of  their  time,  thought, 
and    money  to  the  public  well-being.     I  am 

139 


140      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


not  so  presumptuous  as  to  attempt  to  define 
exactly  what  this  betterment  work  should 
consist  of.  Every  man  will  do  that  for  him- 
self, and  his  own  conclusion  will  be  final  for 
himself.  It  is  well,  I  think,  that  no  narrow 
or  preconceived  plan  should  be  set  down  as 
the  best. 

I  am  sure  it  is  a  mistake  to  assume  that  the 
possession  of  money  in  great  abundance  neces- 
sarily brings  happiness.  The  very  rich  are 
just  like  all  the  rest  of  us ;  and  if  they  get  pleasure 
from  the  possession  of  money,  it  comes  from  their 
ability  to  do  things  which  give  satisfaction  to 
someone  besides  themselves. 

LIMITATIONS  OF  THE  RICH 

The  mere  expenditure  of  money  for  things, 
so  I  am  told  by  those  who  profess  to  know, 
soon  palls  upon  one.  The  novelty  of  being 
able  to  purchase  anything  one  wants  soon  passes, 
because  what  people  most  seek  cannot  be 
bought  with  money.  These  rich  men  we  read 
about  in  the  newspapers  cannot  get  personal 
returns  beyond  a  well-defined  limit  for  their 
expenditure.  They  cannot  gratify  the  pleasures 
of  the  palate  beyond  very  moderate  bounds, 
since  they  cannot  purchase  a  good  digestion; 
they  cannot  lavish  very  much  money  on  fine 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS 


141 


raiment  for  themselves  or  their  families  without 
suffering  from  public  ridicule;  and  in  their 
homes  they  cannot  go  much  beyond  the  comforts 
of  the  less  wealthy  without  involving  them  in 
more  pain  than  pleasure.  As  I  study  wealthy 
men,  I  can  see  but  one  way  in  which  they  can 
secure  a  real  equivalent  for  money  spent,  and 
that  is  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  giving  where  the 
money  may  produce  an  effect  which  will  be 
a  lasting  gratification. 

A  man  of  business  may  often  most  properly 
consider  that  he  does  his  share  in  building  up  a 
property  which  gives  steady  work  for  few  or 
many  people;  and  his  contribution  consists  in 
giving  to  his  employees  good  working  condi- 
tions, new  opportunities,  and  a  strong  stimulus 
to  good  work.  Just  so  long  as  he  has  the  wel- 
fare of  his  employees  in  his  mind  and  follows 
his  convictions,  no  one  can  help  honouring 
such  a  man.  It  would  be  the  narrowest  sort  of 
view  to  take,  and  I  think  the  meanest,  to  consider 
that  good  works  consist  chiefly  in  the  outright 
giving  of  money. 

THE  BEST  PHILANTHROPY 

The  best  philanthropy,  the  help  that  does  the 
most  good  and  the  least  harm,  the  help  that 
nourishes  civilization  at  its  very  root,  that  most 


142      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


widely  disseminates  health,  righteousness,  and 
happiness,  is  not  what  is  usually  called  charity. 
It  is,  in  my  judgment,  the  investment  of  effort 
or  time  or  money,  carefully  considered  with 
relation  to  the  power  of  employing  people  at  a 
remunerative  wage,  to  expand  and  develop  the 
resources  at  hand,  and  to  give  opportunity  for 
progress  and  healthful  labour  where  it  did  not 
exist  before.  No  mere  money-giving  is  com- 
parable to  this  in  its  lasting  and  beneficial 
results. 

If,  as  I  am  accustomed  to  think,  this  state- 
ment is  a  correct  one,  how  vast  indeed  is 
the  philanthropic  field!  It  may  be  urged 
that  the  daily  vocation  of  life  is  one  thing, 
and  the  work  of  philanthropy  quite  another. 
I  have  no  sympathy  with  this  notion.  The 
man  who  plans  to  do  all  his  giving  on  Sun- 
day is  a  poor  prop  for  the  institutions  of 
the  country. 

The  excuse  for  referring  so  often  to  the  busy 
man  of  affairs  is  that  his  help  is  most  needed. 
I  know  of  men  who  have  followed  out  this 
large  plan  of  developing  work,  not  as  a  tempo- 
rary matter,  but  as  a  permanent  principle. 
These  men  have  taken  up  doubtful  enterprises 
and  carried  them  through  to  success  often  at 
great  risk,  and  in  the  face  of  great  scepticism, 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  143 


not  as  a  matter  only  of  personal  profit,  but  in 
the  larger  spirit  of  general  uplift. 

DISINTERESTED  SERVICE  THE  ROAD  TO  SUCCESS 

If  I  were  to  give  advice  to  a  young  man 
starting  out  in  life,  I  should  say  to  him:  If 
you  aim  for  a  large,  broad-gauged  success, 
do  not  begin  your  business  career,  whether  you 
sell  your  labour  or  are  an  independent  producer, 
with  the  idea  of  getting  from  the  world  by  hook 
or  crook  all  you  can.  In  the  choice  of  your 
profession  or  your  business  employment,  let 
your  first  thought  be :  Where  can  I  fit  in  so  that 
I  may  be  most  effective  in  the  work  of  the  world  ? 
Where  can  I  lend  a  hand  in  a  way  most  effec- 
tively to  advance  the  general  interests  ?  Enter 
life  in  such  a  spirit,  choose  your  vocation 
in  that  way,  and  you  have  taken  the  first  step 
on  the  highest  road  to  a  large  success.  Inves- 
tigation will  show  that  the  great  fortunes  which 
have  been  made  in  this  country,  and  the  same 
is  probably  true  of  other  lands,  have  come  to 
men  who  have  performed  great  and  far-reaching 
economic  services  —  men  who,  with  great  faith 
in  the  future  of  their  country,  have  done  most 
for  the  development  of  its  resources.  The 
man  will  be  most  successful  who  confers  the 
greatest   service   on   the   world.  Commercial 


144     RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


enterprises  that  are  needed  by  the  public  will 
pay.  Commercial  enterprises  that  are  not 
needed  fail,  and  ought  to  fail. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  one  thing  which  such 
a  business  philosopher  would  be  most  careful 
to  avoid  in  his  investments  of  time  and  effort 
or  money,  is  the  unnecessary  duplication  of 
existing  industries.  He  would  regard  all  money 
spent  in  increasing  needless  competition  as 
wasted,  and  worse.  The  man  who  puts  up  a 
second  factory  when  the  factory  in  existence 
will  supply  the  public  demand  adequately  and 
cheaply  is  wasting  the  national  wealth  and 
destroying  the  national  prosperity,  taking  the 
bread  from  the  labourer  and  unnecessarily  intro- 
ducing heartache  and  misery  into  the  world. 

Probably  the  greatest  single  obstacle  to  the 
progress  and  happiness  of  the  American  people 
lies  in  the  willingness  of  so  many  men  to  invest 
their  time  and  money  in  multiplying  competi- 
tive industries  instead  of  opening  up  new  fields, 
and  putting  their  money  into  lines  of  industry 
and  development  that  are  needed.  It  requires 
a  better  type  of  mind  to  seek  out  and  to  support 
or  to  create  the  new  than  to  follow  the  worn 
paths  of  accepted  success;  but  here  is  the 
great  chance  in  our  still  rapidly  developing 
country.    The  penalty  of  a  selfish  attempt  to 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  145 


make  the  world  confer  a  living  without  con- 
tributing to  the  progress  or  happiness  of  man- 
kind is  generally  a  failure  to  the  individual. 
The  pity  is  that  when  he  goes  down  he  inflicts 
heartache  and  misery  also  on  others  who  are 
in  no  way  responsible. 

THE  GENEROSITY  OF  SERVICE 

Probably  the  most  generous  people  in  the 
world  are  the  very  poor,  who  assume  each 
other's  burdens  in  the  crises  which  come  so 
often  to  the  hard  pressed.  The  mother  in  the 
tenement  falls  ill  and  the  neighbour  in  the  next 
room  assumes  her  burdens.  The  father  loses 
his  work,  and  neighbours  supply  food  to  his 
children  from  their  own  scanty  store.  How 
often  one  hears  of  cases  where  the  orphans  are 
taken  over  and  brought  up  by  the  poor  friend 
whose  benefaction  means  great  additional  hard- 
ship! This  sort  of  genuine  service  makes 
the  most  princely  gift  from  superabundance 
look  insignificant  indeed.  The  Jews  have  had 
for  centuries  a  precept  that  one-tenth  of  a 
man's  possessions  must  be  devoted  to  good 
works,  but  even  this  measure  of  giving  is  but  a 
rough  yardstick  to  go  by.  To  give  a  tenth  of 
one's  income  is  wellnigh  an  impossibility  to 
some,  while  to  others  it  means  a  miserable 


146      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


pittance.  If  the  spirit  is  there,  the  matter  of 
proportion  is  soon  lost  sight  of.  It  is  only  the 
spirit  of  giving  that  counts,  and  the  very  poor 
give  without  any  self -consciousness.  But  I 
fear  that  I  am  dealing  with  generalities  again. 

The  education  of  children  in  my  early  days 
may  have  been  straightlaced,  yet  I  have  always 
been  thankful  that  the  custom  was  quite  general 
to  teach  young  people  to  give  systematically  of 
money  that  they  themselves  had  earned.  It  is 
a  good  thing  to  lead  children  to  realize  early 
the  importance  of  their  obligations  to  others  but, 
I  confess,  it  is  increasingly  difficult;  for  what 
were  luxuries  then  have  become  commonplaces 
now.  It  should  be  a  greater  pleasure  and 
satisfaction  to  give  money  for  a  good  cause 
than  to  earn  it,  and  I  have  always  indulged  the 
hope  that  during  my  life  I  should  be  able  to 
help  establish  efficiency  in  giving  so  that  wealth 
may  be  of  greater  use  to  the  present  and  future 
generations. 

Perhaps  just  here  lies  the  difference  between 
the  gifts  of  money  and  of  service.  The  poor 
meet  promptly  the  misfortunes  which  confront 
the  home  circle  and  household  of  the  neighbour. 
The  giver  of  money,  if  his  contribution  is  to  be 
valuable,  must  add  service  in  the  way  of  study, 
and  he  must  help  to  attack  and  improve  under- 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  147 


lying  conditions.  Not  being  so  pressed  by  the 
racking  necessities,  it  is  he  that  should  be 
better  able  to  attack  the  subject  from  a  more 
scientific  standpoint;  but  the  final  analysis 
is  the  same:  his  money  is  a  feeble  offering  with- 
out the  study  behind  it  which  will  make  its 
expenditure  effective. 

Great  hospitals  conducted  by  noble  and 
unselfish  men  and  women  are  doing  wonderful 
work;  but  no  less  important  are  the  achieve- 
ments in  research  that  reveal  hitherto  unknown 
facts  about  diseases  and  provide  the  remedies 
by  which  many  of  them  can  be  relieved  or  even 
stamped  out. 

To  help  the  sick  and  distressed  appeals  to 
the  kind-hearted  always,  but  to  help  the  investi- 
gator who  is  striving  successfully  to  attack  the 
causes  which  bring  about  sickness  and  distress 
does  not  so  strongly  attract  the  giver  of  money. 
The  first  appeals  to  the  sentiments  overpower- 
ingly,  but  the  second  has  the  head  to  deal  with. 
Yet  I  am  sure  we  are  making  wonderful  advances 
in  this  field  of  scientific  giving.  All  over  the 
world  the  need  of  dealing  with  the  questions 
of  philanthropy  with  something  beyond  the 
impulses  of  emotion  is  evident,  and  everywhere 
help  is  being  given  to  those  heroic  men  and 
women  who  are  devoting  themselves  to  the  prac- 


148      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


tical  and  essentially  scientific  tasks.  It  is  a  good 
and  inspiring  thing  to  recall  occasionally  the 
heroism,  for  example,  of  the  men  who  risked 
and  sacrificed  their  lives  to  discover  the  facts 
about  yellow  fever,  a  sacrifice  for  which  untold 
generations  will  bless  them;  and  this  same 
spirit  has  animated  the  professions  of  medicine 
and  surgery. 

SCIENTIFIC  RESEARCH 

How  far  may  this  spirit  of  sacrifice  properly 
extend?  A  great  number  of  scientific  men 
every  year  give  up  everything  to  arrive  at  some 
helpful  contribution  to  the  sum  of  human 
knowledge,  and  I  have  sometimes  thought  that 
good  people  who  lightly  and  freely  criticize 
their  actions  scarcely  realize  just  what  such 
criticism  means.  It  is  one  thing  to  stand  on 
the  comfortable  ground  of  placid  inaction  and 
put  forth  words  of  cynical  wisdom,  and  another 
to  plunge  into  the  work  itself  and  through 
strenuous  experience  earn  the  right  to  express 
strong  conclusions. 

For  my  own  part,  I  have  stood  so  much  as  a 
placid  onlooker  that  I  have  not  had  the  hardi- 
hood even  to  suggest  how  people  so  much  more 
experienced  and  wise  in  those  things  than  I 
should  work  out  the  details  even  of  those  plans 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  149 


with  which  I  have  had  the  honour  to  be 
associated. 

There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  criticism,  no 
doubt  sincere,  of  experiments  on  living  dumb 
animals,  and  the  person  who  stands  for  the 
defenceless  animal  has  such  an  overwhelming 
appeal  to  the  emotions  that  it  is  perhaps  useless 
to  allude  to  the  other  side  of  the  controversy. 
Dr.  Simon  Flexner,  of  the  Institute  for  Medical 
Research,  has  had  to  face  exaggerated  and  even 
sensational  reports,  which  have  no  basis  of 
truth  whatever.  But  consider  for  a  moment 
what  has  been  accomplished  recently,  under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  Flexner  in  discovering  a  remedy 
for  epidemic  cerebro-spinal  meningitis.  It  is 
true  that  in  discovering  this  cure  the  lives  of 
perhaps  fifteen  animals  were  sacrificed,  as  I 
learn,  most  of  them  monkeys ;  but  for  each  one 
of  these  animals  which  lost  its  life,  already 
scores  of  human  lives  have  been  saved.  Large- 
hearted  men  like  Dr.  Flexner  and  his  associates 
do  not  permit  unnecessary  pain  to  defenceless 
animals. 

I  have  been  deeply  interested  in  the  story  of 
a  desperate  experiment  to  save  a  child's  life, 
told  in  a  letter  written  by  one  of  my  associates 
soon  after  the  event  described;  and  it  seems 
worthy  of  repeating.    Dr.  Alexis  Carrel  has  been 


150     RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


associated  with  Dr.  Flexner  and  his  work,  and 
his  wonderful  skill  has  been  the  result  of  his 
experiments  and  experiences. 

A  WONDERFUL  SURGICAL  OPERATION 

"  Dr.  Alexis  Carrel,  one  of  the  Institute's  staff,  has  been  mak- 
ing some  interesting  studies  in  experimental  surgery,  and  has 
successfully  transplanted  organs  from  one  animal  to  another,  and 
blood  vessels  from  one  species  to  another.  He  had  the  opportu- 
nity recently  of  applying  the  skill  thus  acquired  to  the  saving 
of  a  human  life  under  circumstances  which  attracted  great 
interest  among  the  medical  fraternity  of  this  city.  One  of  the 
best  known  of  the  younger  surgeons  in  New  York  had  a  child 
born  early  last  March,  which  developed  a  disease  in  which  the 
blood,  for  some  reason,  exudes  from  the  blood  vessels  into  the 
tissues  of  the  body,  and  ordinarily  the  child  dies  of  this  internal 
hemorrhage.  When  this  child  was  five  days  old  it  was  evident 
that  it  was  dying.  The  father  and  his  brother,  who  is  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  in  the  profession,  and  one  or  two  other 
doctors  were  in  consultation  with  reference  to  it,  but  considered 
the  case  entirely  hopeless. 

"It  so  happened  that  the  father  had  been  impressed  with 
the  work  which  Dr.  Carrel  had  been  doing  at  the  Institute,  and 
had  spent  several  days  with  him  studying  his  methods.  He 
became  convinced  that  the  only  possibility  of  saving  the  child's 
life  was  by  the  direct  transfusion  of  blood.  While  this  has 
been  done  between  adults,  the  blood  vessels  of  a  young  infant 
are  so  delicate  that  it  seemed  impossible  that  the  operation  could 
be  successfully  carried  on.  It  is  necessary  not  only  that  the  blood 
vessels  of  the  two  persons  should  be  united  together,  but  it  must 
be  done  in  such  a  way  that  the  interior  lining  of  the  vessels,  which 
is  a  smooth,  shiny  tissue,  should  be  continuous.    If  the  blood 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  151 


comes  in  contact  with  the  muscular  coat  of  the  blood  vessels,  it 
will  clot  and  stop  the  circulation. 

"Fortunately,  Dr.  Carrel  had  been  experimenting  on  the 
blood  vessels  of  some  very  young  animals,  and  the  father  was 
convinced  that  if  any  man  in  the  country  could  perform  the 
operation  successfully,  it  would  be  he. 

"It  was  then  the  middle  of  the  night.  But  Dr.  Carrel  was 
called  on,  and  when  the  situation  was  explained  to  him,  and  it 
was  made  clear  that  the  child  would  die  anyhow,  he  readily 
consented  to  attempt  the  operation,  although  expressing  very 
slight  hope  of  its  successful  outcome. 

"The  father  offered  himself  as  the  person  whose  blood  should 
be  furnished  to  the  child.  It  was  impossible  to  give  anaesthetics 
to  either  of  them.  In  a  child  of  that  age  there  is  only  one  vein 
large  enough  to  be  used,  and  that  is  in  the  back  of  the  leg,  and 
deep  seated.  A  prominent  surgeon  who  was  present  exposed 
this  vein.  He  said  afterward  that  there  was  no  sign  of  life 
in  the  child,  and  expressed  the  belief  that  the  child  had  been,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  dead  for  ten  minutes.  In  view  of  its 
condition  he  raised  the  question  whether  it  was  worth  while  to 
proceed  further  with  the  attempt.  The  father,  however,  insisted 
upon  going  on,  and  the  surgeon  then  exposed  the  radial  artery 
in  the  surgeon's  wrist,  and  was  obliged  to  dissect  it  back  about 
six  inches,  in  order  to  pull  it  out  far  enough  to  make  the  connec- 
tion with  the  child's  vein. 

"This  part  of  the  work  the  surgeon  who  did  it  afterward 
described  as  the  4  blacksmith  part  of  the  job.'  He  said  that  the 
child's  vein  was  about  the  size  of  a  match  and  the  consistency 
of  wet  cigarette  paper,  and  it  seemed  utterly  impossible  for  any- 
one to  successfully  unite  these  two  vessels.  Dr.  Carrel,  however, 
accomplished  this  feat.  And  then  occurred  what  the  doctors 
who  were  present  described  as  one  of  the  most  dramatic  incidents 


152     RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


in  the  history  of  surgery.  The  blood  from  the  father's  artery 
was  released,  and  began  to  flow  into  the  child's  body,  amounting 
to  about  a  pint.  The  first  sign  of  life  was  a  little  pink  tinge  at 
the  top  of  one  of  the  ears,  then  the  lips,  which  had  become 
perfectly  blue,  began  to  change  to  red,  and  then  suddenly,  as 
though  the  child  had  been  taken  from  a  hot  mustard  bath,  a  pink 
glow  broke  out  all  over  its  body,  and  it  began  to  cry  lustily.  After 
about  eight  minutes  the  two  were  separated.  The  child  at  that 
time  was  crying  for  food.  It  was  fed,  and  from  that  moment 
began  to  eat  and  sleep  regularly,  and  made  a  complete  recovery. 

"The  father  appeared  before  a  legislative  committee  at  Albany, 
in  opposition  to  certain  bills  which  were  pending  at  the  last  session 
to  restrict  animal  experimentation,  and  told  this  incident,  and 
said  at  the  close  that  when  he  saw  Dr.  Carrel's  experiments  he 
had  no  idea  that  they  would  so  soon  be  available  for  saving 
human  life;  much  less  did  he  imagine  that  the  life  to  be  saved 
would  be  that  of  his  own  child." 

THE  FUNDAMENTAL  THING  IN  ALL  HELP 

If  the  people  can  be  educated  to  help  them- 
selves, we  strike  at  the  root  of  many  of  the 
evils  of  the  world.  This  is  the  fundamental 
thing,  and  it  is  worth  saying  even  if  it  has 
been  said  so  often  that  its  truth  is  lost  sight 
of  in  its  constant  repetition. 

The  only  thing  which  is  of  lasting  benefit 
to  a  man  is  that  which  he  does  for  himself. 
Money  which  comes  to  him  without  effort 
on  his  part  is  seldom  a  benefit  and  often  a 
curse.    That  is  the  principal  objection  to  specu- 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  153 


lation  —  it  is  not  because  more  lose  than  gain, 
though  that  is  true  —  but  it  is  because  those 
who  gain  are  apt  to  receive  more  injury  from 
their  success  than  they  would  have  received  from 
failure.  And  so  with  regard  to  money  or  other 
things  which  are  given  by  one  person  to  another. 
It  is  only  in  the  exceptional  case  that  the  receiver 
is  really  benefited.  But,  if  we  can  help  people 
to  help  themselves,  then  there  is  a  permanent 
blessing  conferred. 

Men  who  are  studying  the  problem  of  disease 
tell  us  that  it  is  becoming  more  and  more 
evident  that  the  forces  which  conquer  sickness 
are  within  the  body  itself,  and  that  it  is  only 
when  these  are  reduced  below  the  normal  that 
disease  can  get  a  foothold.  The  way  to  ward 
off  disease,  therefore,  is  to  tone  up  the  body 
generally;  and,  when  disease  has  secured  a 
foothold,  the  way  to  combat  it  is  to  help  these 
natural  resisting  agencies  which  are  in  the  body 
already.  In  the  same  way  the  failures  which  a 
man  makes  in  his  life  are  due  almost  always 
to  some  defect  in  his  personality,  some  weakness 
of  body,  or  mind,  or  character,  will,  or  tempera- 
ment. The  only  way  to  overcome  these  failings 
is  to  build  up  his  personality  from  within,  so 
that  he,  by  virtue  of  what  is  within  him,  may 
overcome  the  weakness  which  was  the  cause 


154      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


of  the  failure.  It  is  only  those  efforts  the  man 
himself  puts  forth  that  can  really  help  him. 

We  all  desire  to  see  the  widest  possible 
distribution  of  the  blessings  of  life.  Many 
crude  plans  have  been  suggested,  some  of 
which  utterly  ignore  the  essential  facts  of 
human  nature,  and  if  carried  out  would  per- 
haps drag  our  whole  civilization  down  into 
hopeless  misery.  It  is  my  belief  that  the 
principal  cause  for  the  economic  differences 
between  people  is  their  difference  in  person- 
ality, and  that  it  is  only  as  we  can  assist  in 
the  wider  distribution  of  those  qualities  which 
go  to  make  up  a  strong  personality  that  we  can 
assist  in  the  wider  distribution  of  wealth. 
Under  normal  conditions  the  man  who  is  strong 
in  body,  in  mind,  in  character,  and  in  will 
need  never  suffer  want.  But  these  qualities 
can  never  be  developed  in  a  man  unless  by 
his  own  efforts,  and  the  most  that  any  other 
can  do  for  him  is,  as  I  have  said,  to  help  him 
to  help  himself. 

We  must  always  remember  that  there  is 
not  enough  money  for  the  work  of  human 
uplift  and  that  there  never  can  be.  How 
vitally  important  it  is,  therefore,  that  the 
expenditure  should  go  as  far  as  possible  and 
be  used  with  the  greatest  intelligence ! 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  155 


I  have  been  frank  to  say  that  I  believe  in  the 
spirit  of  combination  and  cooperation  when 
properly  and  fairly  conducted  in  the  world 
of  commercial  affairs,  on  the  principle  that 
it  helps  to  reduce  waste;  and  waste  is  a  dissipa- 
tion of  power.  I  sincerely  hope  and  thoroughly 
believe  that  this  same  principle  will  eventually 
prevail  in  the  art  of  giving  as  it  does  in  business. 
It  is  not  merely  the  tendency  of  the  times 
developed  by  more  exacting  conditions  in  indus- 
try, but  it  should  make  its  most  effective  appeal 
to  the  hearts  of  the  people  who  are  striving  to 
do  the  most  good  to  the  largest  number. 

SOME  UNDERLYING  PRINCIPLES 

At  the  risk  of  making  this  chapter  very  dull, 
and  I  am  told  that  this  is  a  fault  which 
inexperienced  authors  should  avoid  at  all 
hazards,  I  may  perhaps  be  pardoned  if  I  set 
down  here  some  of  the  fundamental  principles 
which  have  been  at  the  bottom  of  all  my  own 
plans.  I  have  undertaken  no  work  of  any 
importance  for  many  years  which,  in  a  general 
way,  has  not  followed  out  these  broad  lines,  and 
I  believe  no  really  constructive  effort  can  be 
made  in  philanthropic  work  without  such  a  well- 
defined  and  consecutive  purpose. 

My  own  conversion  to  the  feeling  that  an 


156     RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


organized  plan  was  an  absolute  necessity  came 
about  in  this  way. 

About  the  year  1890  I  was  still  following 
the  haphazard  fashion  of  giving  here  and 
there  as  appeals  presented  themselves.  I  investi- 
gated as  I  could,  and  worked  myself  almost  to 
a  nervous  break-down  in  groping  my  way, 
without  sufficient  guide  or  chart,  through  this 
ever-widening  field  of  philanthropic  endeavour. 
There  was  then  forced  upon  me  the  necessity 
to  organize  and  plan  this  department  of  our  daily 
tasks  on  as  distinct  lines  of  progress  as  we  did 
our  business  affairs;  and  I  will  try  to  describe 
the  underlying  principles  we  arrived  at,  and 
have  since  followed  out,  and  hope  still  greatly 
to  extend. 

It  may  be  beyond  the  pale  of  good  taste 
to  speak  at  all  of  such  a  personal  subject  — 
I  am  not  unmindful  of  this  —  but  I  can 
make  these  observations  with  at  least  a 
little  better  grace  because  so  much  of  the 
hard  work  and  hard  thinking  are  done  by 
my  family  and  associates,  who  devote  their 
lives  to  it. 

Every  right-minded  man  has  a  philosophy 
of  life,  whether  he  knows  it  or  not.  Hidden 
away  in  his  mind  are  certain  governing  prin- 
ciples, whether  he  formulates  them  in  words 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  157 


or  not,  which  govern  his  life.  Surely  his  ideal 
ought  to  be  to  contribute  all  that  he  can, 
however  little  it  may  be,  whether  of  money  or 
service,  to  human  progress. 

Certainly  one's  ideal  should  be  to  use  one's 
means,  both  in  one's  investments  and  in  bene- 
factions, for  the  advancement  of  civilization. 
But  the  question  as  to  what  civilization  is 
and  what  are  the  great  laws  which  govern  its 
advance  have  been  seriously  studied.  Our 
investments  not  less  than  gifts  have  been 
directed  to  such  ends  as  we  have  thought 
would  tend  to  produce  these  results.  If  you 
were  to  go  into  our  office,  and  ask  our  com- 
mittee on  benevolence  or  our  committee  on 
investment  in  what  they  consider  civilization 
to  consist,  they  would  say  that  they  have  found 
in  their  study  that  the  most  convenient  analysis 
of  the  elements  which  go  to  make  up  civilization 
runs  about  as  follows : 

1st.  Progress  in  the  means  of  subsistence, 
that  is  to  say,  progress  in  abundance  and 
variety  of  food-supply,  clothing,  shelter,  sani- 
tation, public  health,  commerce,  manufacture, 
the  growth  of  the  public  wealth,  etc. 

2nd.  Progress  in  government  and  law,  that 
is  to  say,  in  the  enactment  of  laws  securing  justice 
and  equity  to  every  man,  consistent  with  the 


158      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


largest  individual  liberty,  and  the  due  and  orderly 
enforcement  of  the  same  upon  all. 

3rd.  Progress  in  literature  and  language. 

4th.  Progress  in  science  and  philosophy. 

5th.  Progress  in  art  and  refinement. 

6th.  Progress  in  morality  and  religion. 

If  you  were  to  ask  them,  as  indeed  they  are 
very  often  asked,  which  of  these  they  regard 
as  fundamental,  they  would  reply  that  they 
would  not  attempt  to  answer,  that  the  question 
is  purely  an  academic  one,  that  all  these  go 
hand  in  hand,  but  that  historically  the  first 
of  them  —  namely,  progress  in  means  of  sub- 
sistence —  had  generally  preceded  progress  in 
government,  in  literature,  in  knowledge,  in 
refinement,  and  in  religion.  Though  not  itself 
of  the  highest  importance,  it  is  the  foundation 
upon  which  the  whole  superstructure  of 
civilization  is  built,  and  without  which  it 
could  not  exist. 

Accordingly,  we  have  sought,  so  far  as  we 
could,  to  make  investments  in  such  a  way  as 
will  tend  to  multiply,  to  cheapen,  and  to  diffuse 
as  universally  as  possible  the  comforts  of  life. 
We  claim  no  credit  for  preferring  these  lines 
of  investment.  We  make  no  sacrifices.  These 
are  the  lines  of  largest  and  surest  return.  In 
this  particular,  namely,  in  cheapness,  ease  of 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  159 


acquirement,  and  universality  of  means  of  sub- 
sistence, our  country  easily  surpasses  that  of 
any  other  in  the  world,  though  we  are  behind 
other  countries,  perhaps,  in  most  of  the  others. 

It  may  be  asked:  How  is  it  consistent  with 
the  universal  diffusion  of  these  blessings  that 
vast  sums  of  money  should  be  in  single  hands  ? 
The  reply  is,  as  I  see  it,  that,  while  men  of 
wealth  control  great  sums  of  money,  they  do 
not  and  cannot  use  them  for  themselves.  They 
have,  indeed,  the  legal  title  to  large  properties, 
and  they  do  control  the  investment  of  them,  but 
that  is  as  far  as  their  own  relation  to  them 
extends  or  can  extend.  The  money  is  univer- 
sally diffused,  in  the  sense  that  it  is  kept  invested, 
and  it  passes  into  the  pay-envelope  week  by 
week. 

Up  to  the  present  time  no  scheme  has  yet 
presented  itself  which  seems  to  afford  a  better 
method  of  handling  capital  than  that  of  indi- 
vidual ownership.  We  might  put  our  money 
into  the  Treasury  of  the  Nation  and  of  the 
various  states,  but  we  do  not  find  any  promise 
in  the  National  or  state  legislatures,  viewed 
from  the  experiences  of  the  past,  that  the  funds 
would  be  expended  for  the  general  weal  more 
effectively  than  under  the  present  methods,  nor 
do  we  find  in  any  of  the  schemes  of  socialism 


160      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


a  promise  that  wealth  would  be  more  wisely 
administered  for  the  general  good.  It  is  the 
duty  of  men  of  means  to  maintain  the  title  to 
their  property  and  to  administer  their  funds 
until  some  man,  or  body  of  men,  shall  rise  up 
capable  of  administering  for  the  general  good 
the  capital  of  the  country  better  than  they  can. 

The  next  four  elements  of  progress  men- 
tioned in  the  enumeration  above,  namely,  prog- 
ress in  government  and  law,  in  language  and 
literature,  in  science  and  philosophy,  in  art 
and  refinement,  we  for  ourselves  have  thought  to 
be  best  promoted  by  means  of  the  higher  educa- 
tion, and  accordingly  we  have  had  the  great 
satisfaction  of  putting  such  sums  as  we  could 
into  various  forms  of  education  in  our  own  and 
in  foreign  lands  —  and  education  not  merely 
along  the  lines  of  disseminating  more  generally 
the  known,  but  quite  as  much,  and  perhaps 
even  more,  in  promoting  original  investigation. 
An  individual  institution  of  learning  can  have 
only  a  narrow  sphere.  It  can  reach  only  a 
limited  number  of  people.  But  every  new  fact 
discovered,  every  widening  of  the  boundaries 
of  human  knowledge  by  research,  becomes 
universally  known  to  all  institutions  of  learning, 
and  becomes  a  benefaction  at  once  to  the 
whole  race. 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  161 


Quite  as  interesting  as  any  phase  of  the  work 
have  been  the  new  lines  entered  upon  by  our 
committee.  We  have  not  been  satisfied  with 
giving  to  causes  which  have  appealed  to  us. 
We  have  felt  that  the  mere  fact  that  this  or  the 
other  cause  makes  its  appeal  is  no  reason  why 
we  should  give  to  it  any  more  than  to  a  thou- 
sand other  causes,  perhaps  more  worthy,  which 
do  not  happen  to  have  come  under  our  eye. 
The  mere  fact  of  a  personal  appeal  creates  no 
claim  which  did  not  exist  before,  and  no  pref- 
erence over  other  causes  more  worthy  which 
may  not  have  made  their  appeal.  So  this  little 
committee  of  ours  has  not  been  content  to  let 
the  benevolences  drift  into  the  channels  of  mere 
convenience  —  to  give  to  the  institutions  which 
have  sought  aid  and  to  neglect  others.  This 
department  has  studied  the  field  of  human 
progress,  and  sought  to  contribute  to  each  of 
those  elements  which  we  believe  tend  most  to 
promote  it.  Where  it  has  not  found  organiza- 
tions ready  to  its  hand  for  such  purpose,  the 
members  of  the  committee  have  sought  to 
create  them.  We  are  still  working  on  new, 
and,  I  hope,  expanding  lines,  which  make 
large  demands  on  one's  intelligence  and  study. 

The  so-called  betterment  work  which  has 
always  been  to  me  a  source  of  great  interest 


162      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


had  a  great  influence  on  my  life,  and  I  refer 
to  it  here  because  I  wish  to  urge  in  this  con- 
nection the  great  importance  of  a  father's 
keeping  in  close  touch  with  his  children,  taking 
into  his  confidence  the  girls  as  well  as  the  boys, 
who  in  this  way  learn  by  seeing  and  doing, 
and  have  their  part  in  the  family  responsibilities. 
As  my  father  taught  me,  so  I  have  tried  to  teach 
my  children.  For  years  it  was  our  custom 
to  read  at  the  table  the  letters  we  received 
affecting  the  various  benevolences  with  which 
we  had  to  do,  studying  the  requests  made  for 
worthy  purposes,  and  following  the  history 
and  reports  of  institutions  and  philanthropic 
cases  in  which  we  were  interested. 


THE    BENEVOLENT    TRUST  — THE 
VALUE  OF  THE  COOPERATIVE  PRIN 
CIPLE  OF  GIVING 


CHAPTER  VII 


The  Benevolent  Trust — the  Value  of  the 
Cooperative  Principle  in  Giving 

GOING  a  step  farther  in  the  plan  of  mak- 
ing benefactions  increasingly  effective 
which  I  took  up  in  the  last  chapter  under  the 
title  of  -The  Difficult  Art  of  Giving/'  I  am 
tempted  to  take  the  opportunity  to  dwell  a  little 
upon  the  subject  of  combination  in  charitable 
work,  which  has  been  something  of  a  hobby 
with  me  for  many  years. 

If  a  combination  to  do  business  is  effective 
in  saving  waste  and  in  getting  better  results, 
why  is  not  combination  far  more  important 
in  philanthropic  work?  The  general  idea  of 
cooperation  in  giving  for  education,  I  have 
felt,  scored  a  real  step  in  advance  when  Mr. 
Andrew  Carnegie  consented  to  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  General  Education  Board.  For  in 
accepting  a  position  in  this  directorate  he  has, 
it  seems  to  me,  stamped  with  his  approval  this 
vital  principle  of  cooperation  in  aiding  the 
educational  institutions  of  our  country. 

165 


166      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


I  rejoice,  as  everybody  must,  in  Mr.  Carnegie's 
enthusiasm  for  using  his  wealth  for  the  benefit 
of  his  less  fortunate  fellows  and  I  think  his 
devotion  to  his  adopted  land's  welfare  has  set 
a  striking  example  for  all  time. 

The  General  Education  Board,  of  which  Mr. 
Carnegie  has  now  become  a  member,  is  interest- 
ing as  an  example  of  an  organization  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  working  out,  in  an  orderly 
and  rather  scientific  way,  the  problem  of  help- 
ing to  stimulate  and  improve  education  in  all 
parts  of  our  country.  What  this  organization 
may  eventually  accomplish,  of  course,  no  one 
can  tell,  but  surely,  under  its  present  board 
of  directors,  it  will  go  very  far.  Here,  again, 
I  feel  that  I  may  speak  frankly  and  express 
my  personal  faith  in  its  success,  since  I  am 
not  a  member  of  the  board,  and  have  never 
attended  a  meeting,  and  the  work  is  all  done 
by  others. 

There  are  some  other  and  larger  plans  thought 
out  on  careful  and  broad  lines,  which  I  have 
been  studying  for  many  years,  and  we  can  see 
that  they  are  growing  into  definite  shape.  It 
is  good  to  know  that  there  are  always  unselfish 
men,  of  the  best  calibre,  to  help  in  every  large 
philanthropic  enterprise.  One  of  the  most  satis- 
factory and  stimulating  pieces  of  good  fortune 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  167 


that  has  come  to  me  is  the  evidence  that  so 
many  busy  people  are  willing  to  turn  aside  from 
their  work  in  pressing  fields  of  labour  and  to 
give  their  best  thoughts  and  energies  without 
compensation  to  the  work  of  human  uplift. 
Doctors,  clergymen,  lawyers,  as  well  as  many 
high-grade  men  of  affairs,  are  devoting  their 
best  and  most  unselfish  efforts  to  some  of  the 
plans  that  we  are  all  trying  to  work  out. 

Take,  as  one  example  of  many  similar  cases, 
Mr.  Robert  C.  Ogden,  who  for  years,  while 
devoting  himself  to  an  exacting  business,  still 
found  time,  supported  by  wonderful  enthusiasm, 
to  give  force  by  his  own  personality  to  work 
done  in  difficult  parts  of  the  educational 
world,  particularly  to  improving  the  common 
school  system  of  the  South.  His  efforts 
have  been  wisely  directed  along  fundamental 
lines  which  must  produce  results  through  the 
years  to  come. 

Fortunately  my  children  have  been  as  earnest 
as  I,  and  much  more  diligent,  in  carefully  and 
intelligently  carrying  out  the  work  already 
begun,  and  agree  with  me  that  at  least  the 
same  energy  and  thought  should  be  expended 
in  the  proper  and  effective  use  of  money  when 
acquired  as  was  exerted  in  the  earning  of  it. 

The  General  Education  Board  has  made,  or 


168      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


is  making,  a  careful  study  of  the  location, 
aims,  work,  resources,  administration,  and  edu- 
cational value,  present  and  prospective,  of  the 
institutions  of  higher  learning  in  the  United 
States.  The  board  makes  its  contributions, 
averaging  something  like  two  million  dollars 
a  year,  on  the  most  careful  comparative  study 
of  needs  and  opportunities  throughout  the 
country.  Its  records  are  open  to  all.  Many 
benefactors  of  education  are  availing  them- 
selves of  these  disinterested  inquiries,  and  it 
is  hoped  that  more  will  do  so. 

A  large  number  of  individuals  are  contrib- 
uting to  the  support  of  educational  institu- 
tions in  our  country.  To  help  an  inefficient, 
ill-located,  unnecessary  school  is  a  waste.  I 
am  told  by  those  who  have  given  most  careful 
study  to  this  problem  that  it  is  highly  probable 
that  enough  money  has  been  squandered  on 
unwise  educational  projects  to  have  built  up  a 
national  system  of  higher  education  adequate 
to  our  needs  if  the  money  had  been  properly 
directed  to  that  end.  Many  of  the  good  people 
who  bestow  their  beneficence  on  education  may 
well  give  more  thought  to  investigating  the 
character  of  the  enterprises  that  they  are  impor- 
tuned to  help,  and  this  study  ought  to  take  into 
account  the  kind  of  people  who  are  responsible 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  169 


for  their  management,  their  location,  and  the 
facilities  supplied  by  other  institutions  round 
about.  A  thorough  examination  such  as  this  is 
generally  quite  impossible  for  an  individual,  and 
he  either  declines  to  give  from  lack  of  accurate 
knowledge,  or  he  may  give  without  due  con- 
sideration. If,  however,  this  work  of  inquiry 
is  done,  and  well  done,  by  the  General  Educa- 
tion Board,  through  officers  of  intelligence, 
skill,  and  sympathy,  trained  to  the  work, 
important  and  needed  service  is  rendered. 
The  walls  of  sectarian  exclusiveness  are  fast 
disappearing,  as  they  should,  and  the  best 
people  are  standing  shoulder  to  shoulder  as 
they  attack  the  great  problems  of  general  uplift. 

ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHARITIES 

Just  here  it  occurs  to  me  to  testify  to  the  fact 
that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  as  I  have 
observed  in  my  experience,  has  advanced  a 
long  way  in  this  direction.  I  have  been  sur- 
prised to  learn  how  far  a  given  sum  of  money 
has  gone  in  the  hands  of  priests  and  nuns, 
and  how  really  effective  is  their  use  of  it.  I 
fully  appreciate  the  splendid  service  done  by 
other  workers  in  the  field,  but  I  have  seen  the 
organization  of  the  Roman  Church  secure  better 
results  with  a  given  sum  of  money  than  other 


170     RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


Church  organizations  are  accustomed  to  secure 
from  the  same  expenditure.  I  speak  of  this 
merely  to  point  the  value  of  the  principle  of 
organization,  in  which  I  believe  so  heartily. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  centuries 
of  experience  which  the  Church  of  Rome  has 
gone  through  to  perfect  a  great  power  of 
organization. 

Studying  these  problems  has  been  a  source 
of  the  greatest  interest  to  me.  My  assistants, 
quite  distinct  from  any  board,  have  an  organi- 
zation of  sufficient  size  to  investigate  the  many 
requests  that  come  to  us.  This  is  done  from 
the  office  of  our  committee  in  New  York.  For 
an  individual  to  attempt  to  keep  any  close  watch 
of  single  cases  would  be  impossible.  I  am 
called  upon  to  explain  this  fact  many  times. 
To  read  the  hundreds  of  letters  daily  received 
at  our  office  would  be  beyond  the  power  of 
any  one  man,  and  surely,  if  the  many  good 
people  who  write  would  only  reflect  a  little, 
they  must  realize  that  it  is  impossible  for  me 
personally  to  consider  their  applications. 

The  plan  that  we  have  worked  out,  and  I 
hope  improved  upon  year  after  year,  has  been 
the  result  of  experience,  and  I  refer  to  it  now 
only  as  one  contribution  to  a  general  subject 
which  is   of  such  great  moment  to  earnest 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  171 


people;  and  this  must  be  my  excuse  for  speak- 
ing so  frankly. 

THE  APPEALS  THAT  COME 

The  reading,  assorting,  and  investigating 
of  the  hundreds  of  letters  of  appeal  which  are 
received  daily  at  my  office  are  attended  to  by  a 
department  organized  for  this  purpose.  The  task 
is  not  so  difficult  as  at  first  it  might  seem.  The 
letters  are,  to  be  sure,  of  great  variety,  from  all 
sorts  of  people  in  every  condition  of  life,  and 
indeed,  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Four-fifths  of 
these  letters  are,  however,  requests  for  money  for 
personal  use,  with  no  other  title  to  consideration 
than  that  the  writer  would  be  gratified  to  have  it. 

There  remain  numbers  of  requests  which  all 
must  recognize  as  worthy  of  notice.  These 
may  be  divided,  roughly,  as  follows: 

The  claims  of  local  charities.  The  town 
or  city  in  which  one  lives  has  a  definite  appeal 
to  all  its  citizens,  and  all  good  neighbours  will 
wish  to  cooperate  with  friends  and  fellow  towns- 
men. But  these  local  charities,  hospitals, 
kindergartens,  and  the  like,  ought  not  to  make 
appeal  outside  the  local  communities  which 
they  serve.  The  burden  should  be  carried 
by  the  people  who  are  on  the  spot  and  who  are, 
or  should  be,  most  familiar  with  local  needs. 


172      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


Then  come  the  national  and  international 
claims.  These  properly  appeal  especially  to 
men  of  large  means  throughout  the  country, 
whose  wealth  admits  of  their  doing  something 
more  than  assist  in  caring  for  the  local  charities. 
There  are  many  great  national  and  international 
philanthropic  and  Christian  organizations  that 
cover  the  whole  field  of  world-wide  charity; 
and,  while  people  of  reputed  wealth  all  receive 
appeals  from  individual  workers  throughout 
the  world  for  personal  assistance,  the  prudent 
and  thoughtful  giver  will,  more  and  more, 
choose  these  great  and  responsible  organizations 
as  the  medium  for  his  gifts  and  the  distribution 
of  his  funds  to  distant  fields.  This  has  been 
my  custom,  and  the  experience  of  every  day 
serves  only  to  confirm  its  wisdom. 

The  great  value  of  dealing  with  an  organi- 
zation which  knows  all  the  facts,  and  can  best 
decide  just  where  the  help  can  be  applied  to  the 
best  advantage,  has  impressed  itself  upon  me 
through  the  results  of  long  years  of  experience. 
For  example,  one  is  asked  to  give  in  a  certain 
field  of  missionary  work  a  sum,  for  a  definite 
purpose  —  let  us  say  a  hospital.  To  comply 
with  this  request  will  take,  say,  $10,000.  It 
seems  wise  and  natural  to  give  this  amount. 
The    missionary   who   wants   this    money  is 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  173 


working  under  the  direction  of  a  strong  and 
capable  religious  denomination. 

Suppose  the  request  is  referred  to  the  manager 
of  the  board  of  this  denomination,  and  it  tran- 
spires that  there  are  many  good  reasons  why 
a  new  hospital  is  not  badly  needed  at  this  point, 
and  by  a  little  good  management  the  need 
of  this  missionary  can  be  met  by  another  hospital 
in  its  neighbourhood;  whereas  another  mis- 
sionary in  another  place  has  no  such  possibility 
for  any  hospital  facilities  whatever.  There 
is  no  question  that  the  money  should  be  spent  in 
the  place  last  named.  These  conditions  the 
managers  of  all  the  mission  stations  know, 
although  perhaps  the  one  who  is  giving  the 
money  never  heard  of  them,  and  in  my  judg- 
ment he  is  wise  in  not  acting  until  he  has  con- 
sulted these  men  of  larger  information. 

It  is  interesting  to  follow  the  mental  pro- 
cesses that  some  excellent  souls  go  through  to 
cloud  their  consciences  when  they  consider 
what  their  duty  actually  is.  For  instance,  one 
man  says:  "I  do  not  believe  in  giving  money 
to  street  beggars."  I  agree  with  him,  I  do 
not  believe  in  the  practice  either;  but  that  is 
not  a  reason  why  one  should  be  exempt  from 
doing  something  to  help  the  situation  repre- 
sented by  the  street  beggar.    Because  one  does 


174      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


not  yield  to  the  importunities  of  such  people 
is  exactly  the  reason  one  should  join  and  uphold 
the  charity  organization  societies  of  one's  own 
locality,  which  deal  justly  and  humanely  with  this 
class,  separating  the  worthy  from  the  unworthy. 

Another  says:  "I  don't  give  to  such  and 
such  a  board,  because  I  have  read  that  of  the 
money  given  only  half  or  less  actually  gets  to 
the  person  needing  help."  This  is  often  not 
a  true  statement  of  fact,  as  proved  again  and 
again,  and  even  if  it  were  true  in  part  it  does 
not  relieve  the  possible  giver  from  the  duty 
of  helping  to  make  the  organization  more 
efficient.  By  no  possible  chance  is  it  a  valid 
excuse  for  closing  up  one's  pocketbook  and 
dismissing  the  whole  subject  from  one's  mind. 

INSTITUTIONS  AS  THEY  RELATE  TO  EACH 
OTHER 

Surely  it  is  wise  to  be  careful  not  to  duplicate 
effort  and  not  to  inaugurate  new  charities  in 
fields  already  covered,  but  rather  to  strengthen 
and  perfect  those  already  at  work.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  rivalry  and  a  vast  amount  of 
duplication,  and  one  of  the  most  difficult  things 
in  giving  is  to  ascertain  when  the  field  is  fully 
covered.  Many  people  simply  consider  whether 
the  institution  to  which  they  are  giving  is 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  175 


thoughtfully  and  well  managed,  without  stop- 
ping to  discover  whether  the  field  is  not  already 
occupied  by  others ;  and  for  this  reason  one  ought 
not  to  investigate  a  single  institution  by  itself, 
but  always  in  its  relation  to  all  similar  institu- 
tions in  the  territory.    Here  is  a  case  in  point: 

A  number  of  enthusiastic  people  had  a  plan 
for  founding  an  orphan  asylum  which  was  to 
be  conducted  by  one  of  our  strongest  religious 
denominations.  The  raising  of  the  necessary 
funds  was  begun,  and  among  the  people  who 
were  asked  to  subscribe  was  a  man  who  always 
made  it  a  practice  to  study  the  situation  care- 
fully before  committing  himself  to  a  contribu- 
tion. He  asked  one  of  the  promoters  of  the 
new  institution  how  many  beds  the  present 
asylums  serving  this  community  provided,  how 
efficient  they  were,  where  located,  and  what 
particular  class  of  institution  was  lacking  in 
the  community. 

To  none  of  these  questions  were  answers 
forthcoming,  so  he  had  this  information  gathered 
on  his  own  account  with  the  purpose  of  helping 
to  make  the  new  plan  effective.  His  studies 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  city  where  the  new 
asylum  was  to  be  built  was  so  well  provided 
with  such  institutions  that  there  were  already 
vastly  more  beds  for  children  than  there  were 


176      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


applicants  to  fill  them,  and  that  the  field  was 
well  and  fully  covered.  These  facts  being 
presented  to  the  organizers  of  the  enterprise, 
it  was  shown  that  no  real  need  for  such  an 
institution  existed.  I  wish  I  might  add  that 
the  scheme  was  abandoned.  It  was  not.  Such 
charities  seldom  are  when  once  the  sympathies 
of  the  worthy  people,  however  misinformed, 
are  heartily  enlisted. 

It  may  be  urged  that  doing  the  work  in  this 
systematic  and  apparently  cold-blooded  way 
leaves  out  of  consideration,  to  a  large  extent, 
the  merits  of  individual  cases.  My  contention 
is  that  the  organization  of  work  in  combination 
should  not  and  does  not  stifle  the  work  of 
individuals,  but  strengthens  and  stimulates  it. 
The  orderly  combination  of  philanthropic  effort 
is  growing  daily,  and  at  the  same  time  the  spirit 
of  broad  philanthropy  never  was  so  general  as 
it  is  now. 

THE  CLAIM  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION 

The  giver  who  works  out  these  problems  for 
himself  will,  no  doubt,  find  many  critics.  So 
many  people  see  the  pressing  needs  of  every- 
day life  that  possibly  they  fail  to  realize  those 
which  are,  if  less  obvious,  of  an  even  larger 
significance  —  for  instance,  the  great  claims  of 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  177 


higher  education.  Ignorance  is  the  source  of 
a  large  part  of  the  poverty  and  a  vast  amount 
of  the  crime  in  the  world  —  hence  the  need  of 
education.  If  we  assist  the  highest  forms  of 
education  —  in  whatever  field  —  we  secure  the 
widest  influence  in  enlarging  the  boundaries  of 
human  knowledge;  for  all  the  new  facts  dis- 
covered or  set  in  motion  become  the  universal 
heritage.  I  think  we  cannot  overestimate  the 
importance  of  this  matter.  The  mere  fact  that 
most  of  the  great  achievements  in  science, 
medicine,  art,  and  literature  are  the  flower  of 
the  higher  education  is  sufficient.  Some  great 
writer  will  one  day  show  how  these  things  have 
ministered  to  the  wants  of  all  the  people,  educa- 
cated  and  uneducated,  high  and  low,  rich  and 
poor,  and  made  life  more  what  we  all  wish  it  to  be. 

The  best  philanthropy  is  constantly  in  search 
of  the  finalities  —  a  search  for  cause,  an  attempt 
to  cure  evils  at  their  source.  My  interest  in 
the  University  of  Chicago  has  been  enhanced 
by  the  fact  that  while  it  has  comprehensively 
considered  the  other  features  of  a  collegiate 
course,  it  has  given  so  much  attention  to  research. 

DR.  WILLIAM  R.  HARPER 

The  mention  of  this  promising  young  institu- 
tion always  brings  to  my  mind  the  figure  of  Dr. 


178      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


William  R.  Harper,  whose  enthusiasm  for  its 
work  was  so  great  that  no  vision  of  its  future 
seemed  too  large. 

My  first  meeting  with  Dr.  Harper  was  at 
Vassar  College,  where  one  of  my  daughters  was 
a  student.  He  used  to  come,  as  the  guest  of 
Dr.  James  M.  Taylor,  the  president,  to  lecture 
on  Sundays;  and  as  I  frequently  spent  week- 
ends there,  I  saw  and  talked  much  with  the 
young  professor,  then  of  Yale,  and  caught  in 
some  degree  the  contagion  of  his  enthusiasm. 

When  the  university  had  been  founded,  and 
he  had  taken  the  presidency,  our  great  ambition 
was  to  secure  the  best  instructors  and  to  organize 
the  new  institution,  unhampered  by  traditions, 
according  to  the  most  modern  ideals.  He  raised 
millions  of  dollars  among  the  people  of  Chicago 
and  the  Middle  West,  and  won  the  personal 
interest  of  their  leading  citizens.  Here  lay  his 
great  strength,  for  he  secured  not  only  their 
money  but  their  loyal  support  and  strong 
personal  interest  —  the  best  kind  of  help  and 
cooperation.  He  built  even  better  than  he  knew. 
His  lofty  ideals  embodied  in  the  university 
awakened  a  deeper  interest  in  higher  educa- 
tion throughout  the  Central  West,  and  stirred 
individuals,  denominations,  and  legislatures  to 
effective  action.    The  world  will  probably  never 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  179 


realize  how  largely  the  present  splendid  uni- 
versity system  of  the  Central  Western  States 
is  due  indirectly  to  the  genius  of  this  man. 

With  all  his  extraordinary  power  of  work  and 
his  executive  and  organizing  ability,  Dr.  Harper 
was  a  man  of  exquisite  personal  charm.  We 
count  it  among  the  rich  and  delightful  experi- 
ences of  our  home-life  that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Harper 
could  occasionally  spend  days  together  with  us 
for  a  brief  respite  from  the  exacting  cares  and 
responsibilities  of  the  university  work.  As  a 
friend  and  companion,  in  daily  intercourse,  no 
one  could  be  more  delightful  than  he. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  contribute 
at  various  times  to  the  University  of  Chicago, 
of  which  Dr.  Harper  was  president,  and  the 
newspapers  not  unnaturally  supposed  at  such 
times  that  he  used  the  occasions  of  our  personal 
association  to  secure  these  contributions.  The 
cartoonists  used  to  find  this  a  fruitful  theme. 
They  would  picture  Dr.  Harper  as  a  hypnotist 
waving  his  magic  spell,  or  would  represent  him 
forcing  his  way  into  my  inner  office  where  I 
was  pictured  as  busy  cutting  coupons  and  from 
which  delightful  employment  I  incontinently 
fled  out  of  the  window  at  sight  of  him;  or  they 
would  represent  me  as  fleeing  across  rivers  on 
cakes  of  floating  ice  with  Dr.  Harper  in  hot 


180      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


pursuit;  or  perhaps  he  would  be  following 
close  on  my  trail,  like  the  wolf  in  the  Russian 
story,  in  inaccessible  country  retreats,  while 
I  escaped  only  by  means  of  the  slight  delays 
I  occasioned  him  by  now  and  then  dropping  a 
million-dollar  bill,  which  he  would  be  obliged 
to  stop  and  pick  up. 

These  cartoons  were  intended  to  be  very 
amusing,  and  some  of  them  certainly  did  have 
a  flavour  of  humour,  but  they  were  never  humor- 
ous to  Dr.  Harper.  They  were  in  fact  a  source 
of  deep  humiliation  to  him,  and  I  am  sure  he 
would,  were  he  living,  be  glad  to  have  me  say, 
as  I  now  do,  that  during  the  entire  period  of 
his  presidency  of  the  University  of  Chicago, 
he  never  once  either  wrote  me  a  letter  or  asked 
me  personally  for  a  dollar  of  money  for  the 
University  of  Chicago.  In  the  most  intimate 
daily  intercourse  with  him  in  my  home,  the 
finances  of  the  University  of  Chicago  were  never 
canvassed  or  discussed. 

The  method  of  procedure  in  this  case  has 
been  substantially  the  same  as  with  all  other 
contributions.  The  presentation  of  the  needs 
of  the  university  has  been  made  in  writing  by 
the  officers  of  the  university,  whose  special  duty 
it  is  to  prepare  its  budgets  and  superintend  its 
finances.    A  committee  of  the  trustees,  with 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  181 


the  president,  have  annually  conferred,  at  a 
fixed  time,  with  our  Department  of  Benevo- 
lence, as  to  its  needs.  Their  conclusions  have 
generally  been  entirely  unanimous  and  I  have 
found  no  occasion  hitherto  seriously  to  depart 
from  their  recommendations.  There  have  been 
no  personal  interviews  and  no  personal  solicita- 
tions. It  has  been  a  pleasure  to  me  to  make 
these  contributions,  but  that  pleasure  has  arisen 
out  of  the  fact  that  the  university  is  located 
in  a  great  centre  of  empire;  that  it  has  rooted 
itself  in  the  affections  and  interest  of  the  people 
among  whom  it  is  located;  that  it  is  doing  a 
great  and  needed  work  —  in  fine,  that  it  has 
been  able  to  attract  and  to  justify  the  contribu- 
tions of  its  patrons  East  and  West.  It  is  not 
personal  interviews  and  impassioned  appeals, 
but  sound  and  justifying  worth,  that  should 
attract  and  secure  the  funds  of  philanthropy. 

The  people  in  great  numbers  who  are  con- 
stantly importuning  me  for  personal  inter- 
views in  behalf  of  favourite  causes  err  in  suppos- 
ing that  the  interview,  were  it  possible,  is  the 
best  way,  or  even  a  good  way,  of  securing 
what  they  want.  Our  practice  has  been 
uniformly  to  request  applicants  to  slate  their 
cases  tersely,  but  nevertheless  as  fully  as  they 
think  necessary,   in  writing.    Their  applica- 


182      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


tion  is  carefully  considered  by  very  competent 
people  chosen  for  this  purpose.  If,  thereupon, 
personal  interviews  are  found  desirable  by 
our  assistants,  they  are  invited  from  our  office. 

Written  presentations  form  the  necessary 
basis  of  investigation,  of  consultation,  and 
comparison  of  views  between  the  different 
members  of  our  staff,  and  of  the  final  presenta- 
tion to  me. 

It  is  impossible  to  conduct  this  department 
of  our  work  in  any  other  way.  The  rule 
requiring  written  presentation  as  against  the 
interview  is  enforced  and  adhered  to  not,  as 
the  applicant  sometimes  supposes,  as  a  cold 
rebuff  to  him,  but  in  order  to  secure  for  his 
cause,  if  it  be  a  good  one,  the  careful  con- 
sideration which  is  its  due  —  a  consideration 
that  cannot  be  given  in  a  mere  verbal  interview. 

THE  REASON  FOR  CONDITIONAL  GIFTS 

It  is  easy  to  do  harm  in  giving  money.  To 
give  to  institutions  which  should  be  supported 
by  others  is  not  the  best  philanthropy.  Such 
giving  only  serves  to  dry  up  the  natural  springs 
of  charity. 

It  is  highly  important  that  every  charitable 
institution  shall  have  at  all  times  the  largest 
possible  number  of  current  contributors.  This 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  183 


means  that  the  institution  shall  constantly 
be  making  its  appeals;  but,  if  these  constant 
appeals  are  to  be  successful,  the  institution  is 
forced  to  do  excellent  work  and  meet  real  and 
manifest  needs.  Moreover,  the  interest  of  many 
people  affords  the  best  assurance  of  wise 
economy  and  unselfish  management  as  well 
as  of  continued  support. 

We  frequently  make  our  gifts  conditional 
on  the  giving  of  others,  not  because  we  wish 
to  force  people  to  do  their  duty,  but  because 
we  wish  in  this  way  to  root  the  institution  in 
the  affections  of  as  many  people  as  possible 
who,  as  contributors,  become  personally  con- 
cerned, and  thereafter  may  be  counted  on  to 
give  to  the  institution  their  watchful  interest 
and  cooperation.  Conditional  gifts  are  often 
criticized,  and  sometimes,  it  may  be,  by  people 
who  have  not  thought  the  matter  out  fully. 

Criticism  which  is  deliberate,  sober,  and 
fair  is  always  valuable  and  it  should  be  wel- 
comed by  all  who  desire  progress.  I  have 
had  at  least  my  full  share  of  adverse  criticism, 
but  I  can  truly  say  that  it  has  not  embittered 
me,  nor  left  me  with  any  harsh  feeling  against  a 
living  soul.  Nor  do  I  wish  to  be  critical  of 
those  whose  conscientious  judgment,  frankly 
expressed,  differs  from  my  own.    No  matter 


184      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


how  noisy  the  pessimists  may  be,  we  know 
that  the  world  is  getting  better  steadily  and 
rapidly,  and  that  is  a  good  thing  to  remember 
in  our  moments  of  depression  or  humiliation. 

THE  BENEVOLENT  TRUSTS 

To  return  to  the  subject  of  the  Benevolent 
Trusts,  which  is  a  name  for  corporations  to 
manage  the  business  side  of  benefactions. 
The  idea  needs,  and  to  be  successful  must 
have,  the  help  of  men  who  have  been  trained 
along  practical  lines.  The  best  men  of  busi- 
ness should  be  attracted  by  its  possibilities 
for  good.  When  it  is  eventually  worked  out, 
as  it  will  be  in  some  form,  and  probably  in  a 
better  one  than  we  can  now  forecast,  how 
worthy  it  will  be  of  the  efforts  of  our  ablest  men ! 

We  shall  have  the  best  charities  supported 
generously  and  adequately,  managed  with 
scientific  efficiency  by  the  ablest  men,  who 
will  gladly  he  held  strictly  accountable  to  the 
donors  of  the  money,  not  only  for  the  correct 
financing  of  the  funds,  but  for  the  intelligent 
and  effective  use  of  every  penny.  To-day 
the  whole  machinery  of  benevolence  is  con- 
ducted upon  more  or  less  haphazard  principles. 
Good  men  and  women  are  wearing  out  their 
lives  to  raise  money  to  sustain  institutions 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  185 


which  are  conducted  by  more  less  or  unskilled 
methods.  This  is  a  tremendous  waste  of  our 
best  material. 

We  cannot  afford  to  have  great  souls  who 
are  capable  of  doing  the  most  effective  work 
slaving  to  raise  the  money.  That  should  be 
a  business  man's  task,  and  he  should  be 
supreme  in  managing  the  machinery  of  the 
expenses.  The  teachers,  the  workers,  and  the 
inspired  leaders  of  the  people  should  be  relieved 
of  these  pressing  and  belittling  money  cares. 
They  have  more  than  enough  to  do  in  tilling 
their  tremendous  and  never  fully  occupied  field, 
and  they  should  be  free  from  any  care  which 
might  in  any  wise  divert  them  from  that  work. 

When  these  Benevolent  Trusts  come  into 
active  being,  such  organizations  on  broad  lines 
will  be  sure  to  attract  the  brains  of  the  best  men 
we  have  in  our  commercial  affairs,  as  great 
business  opportunities  attract  them  now.  Our 
successful  business  men  as  a  class,  and  the 
exceptions  only  prove  the  truth  of  the  assertion, 
have  a  high  standard  of  honour.  I  have  some- 
times been  tempted  to  say  that  our  clergymen 
could  gain  by  knowing  the  essentials  of  business 
life  better.  The  closer  association  with  men 
of  affairs  would,  I  think,  benefit  both  classes. 
People  who  have  had  much  to  do  with  ministers 


186      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


and  those  who  hold  confidential  positions  in 
our  churches  have  at  times  had  surprising 
experiences  in  meeting  what  is  sometimes  prac- 
tised in  the  way  of  ecclesiastical  business, 
because  these  good  men  have  had  so  little  of 
business  training  in  the  work-a-day  world. 

The  whole  system  of  proper  relations,  whether 
it  be  in  commerce,  or  in  the  Church,  or  in  the 
sciences,  rests  on  honour.  Able  business  men 
seek  to  confine  their  dealings  to  people  who 
tell  the  truth  and  keep  their  promises;  and 
the  representatives  of  the  Church,  who  are 
often  prone  to  attack  business  men  as  a  type 
of  what  is  selfish  and  mean,  have  some  great 
lessons  to  learn,  and  they  will  gladly  learn 
them  as  these  two  types  of  workers  grow  closer 
together. 

The  Benevolent  Trusts,  when  they  come, 
will  raise  these  standards;  they  will  look  the 
facts  in  the  face;  they  will  applaud  and  sustain 
the  effective  workers  and  institutions;  and  they 
will  uplift  the  intelligent  standard  of  good  work 
in  helping  all  the  people  chiefly  to  help  them- 
selves. There  are  already  signs  that  these 
combinations  are  coming,  and  coming  quickly, 
and  in  the  directorates  of  these  trusts  you  will 
eventually  find  the  flower  of  our  American 
manhood,  the  men  who  not  only  know  how  to 


OF  MEN  AND  EVENTS  187 


make  money,  but  who  accept  the  great  responsi- 
bility of  administering  it  wisely. 

A  few  years  ago,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
decennial  anniversary  of  the  University  of 
Chicago,  I  was  attending  a  university  dinner, 
and  having  been  asked  to  speak  I  had  jotted 
down  a  few  notes. 

When  the  time  arrived  to  stand  up  and  face 
these  guests  —  men  of  worth  and  position  — 
my  notes  meant  nothing  to  me.  As  I  thought 
of  the  latent  power  of  good  that  rested  with 
these  rich  and  influential  people  I  was  greatly 
affected.  I  threw  down  my  notes  and  started 
to  plead  for  my  Benevolent  Trust  plan. 

"You  men,"  I  said,  "are  always  looking 
forward  to  do  something  for  good  causes. 
I  know  how  very  busy  you  are.  You  work 
in  a  treadmill  from  which  you  see  no  escape. 
I  can  easily  understand  that  you  feel  that  it  is 
beyond  your  present  power  carefully  to  study 
the  needs  of  humanity,  and  that  you  wait  to 
give  until  you  have  considered  many  things 
and  decided  upon  some  course  of  action. 
Now,  why  not  do  with  what  you  can  give  to 
others  as  you  do  with  what  you  want  to  keep 
for  yourself  and  your  children:  Put  it  into  a 
Trust?  You  would  not  place  a  fortune  for 
your  children  in  the  hands  of  an  inexperienced 


188      RANDOM  REMINISCENCES 


person,  no  matter  how  good  he  might  be.  Let 
us  be  as  careful  with  the  money  we  would 
spend  for  the  benefit  of  others  as  if  we  were 
laying  it  aside  for  our  own  family's  future  use. 
Directors  carry  on  these  affairs  in  your  behalf. 
Let  us  erect  a  foundation,  a  Trust,  and  engage 
directors  who  will  make  it  a  life  work  to  manage, 
with  our  personal  cooperation,  this  business  of 
benevolence  properly  and  effectively.  And  I 
beg  of  you,  attend  to  it  now,  don't  wait." 

I  confess  I  felt  most  strongly  on  the  subject, 
and  I  feel  so  now. 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


